Bye-bye House

Well, we finished packing and moving and are happily settled in Midway. The drive to work is long, but we are spoiled by amenities like a king size bed and family right next door. I just thought that I would post some photos of our empty first house...



As we say good-bye to our house of over 3 years we find ourselves excited about our future and thankful for everything we have. Thank you to everyone who has been a support to us!

Thank goodness for "house-elves"

So, the boxes are packed and the furniture is moved and we are exhausted! I need to say a huge thank you to all who helped lift all the big heavy things that would have been impossible for me.

Today was an especially stressful day. It started with a flat tire, followed then a borrowed car with a completely empty tank which I had to get a temporary BYU parking pass for so I didn't get a $200 fine (which I had once gotten in the past for parking a borrowed car on BYU property). So, I ended up about 40 minutes late for work, which normally wouldn't be so bad except that I signed up for a couple classes the University is paying me to take, and I missed a huge chunk of the one class I was super excited about...

From there is does get better. I did miss part of the class, but I think I jumped in pretty successfully, and I had a great time learning how to make web pages. After class, I was dreading going home as I had my whole house to clean before our buyers "walk-through" tomorrow. I pulled into the driveway and everything seemed normal... I opened the garage and was amazed. I wondered "was Matt here... why is the garage so clean?". I continued towards the door to the house and when I looked in I almost cried! The place was completely spotless!! There was nothing for me to do! I would not have to stay up all night scrubbing and vacuuming and breathing in cleaning chemical fumes. It was a miracle! The "house elves" had paid me a visit (and done an incredible job!).

I must thank them publicly and profusely. Thank you so much, you don't know what you have done for me! I am in your debt.

Hot water-Hallelujah!

So, last night was the first time (not counting the time I showered at mom's) in about a month that I actually had a hot shower! It felt like heaven! There is nothing like knowing that if you wanted you could turn up the heat in the shower way past what felt good. It all started about a month ago. One morning I went to take a shower and we had no hot water. Matt had actually noticed the night before but forgot to inform me of the unfortunate situation. I went downstairs to try to light the pilot on the water heater, but had no luck. We called in the plumber (his name is Allen). He got the pilot lit and all seemed good. However, that was only the first of about 4 or 5 times that Allen came to visit us. On his final visit (which was just last Monday) he decided that we just needed a new water heater. What a bummer! At his estimate a new water heater would be between $800-$900! So, we decided to get a second opinion. Later that night Rob came by. He also came to the conclusion that we were in need of a new water heater. On his estimate we would need to pay about $1400 for the new unit! He did say that he "wasn't going to get one of the crappy Home Depot GE water heaters"; he was going to get us a "good one". We paid him and kindly thanked him for coming to diagnose our problem. Shocked, Matt and I sat on the couch contemplating our bad luck. You see, this couldn't have happened at a worse time. We will only be in our house another week and a half! The darn thing even had the nerve of breaking after the home inspection (which our house passed with flying colors, much to the surprise of our buyer's realtor). So, what do you do? You go to Home Depot and get one of those "crappy" water heaters (that happen to come with a 6 year warranty) and spend about $500. To our surprise and peace of mind the new water heater kicks our other water heaters butt!

The Fur-minator

Yes, the fur-minator! Let's see, Matt and I have had Sparco (a big orange cat, think Garfield) for about 4 years now. We adopted him about 2 weeks after we got married. He is the friendliest cat I've ever met. We love him tons. There are just 2 things that make him hard to live with. First, he chews on his tail and makes a terrible sound while doing it. (We did find this stuff called bitter apple which, when sprayed on his tail, makes it taste super yucky. Unfortunately it only lasts a couple hours). Second, I have never see a cat shed as much as he does! The hair is everywhere! We brush and brush and brush, but it just keeps coming out... That is until today! A friend told me about this special grooming treatment called the fur-minator. The second she left my house was the second I was on the phone making Sparco an appointment. I just picked him up and he looks great! He also weighs about a pound less! So, I'll let you know the fir-minator goes.

Fireworks

Do you like fireworks?



I just wanted to see if I could get a video to work.

Can you hear me now?

Hi all! Newbe blogger testing the waters...