We bought a house!!

What a topic for my 100th post, right? Sean and I have been looking for places in Asheville since he got a job at Mission (the hospital, and largest employer in WNC). We knew we needed to move, because he's been driving an hour and fifteen minutes each way to get to work from Spruce Pine, and he has to be there at 6:30am several days a week. It makes for long days and not much time together, since he goes to bed an hour after he gets home.

Anyway, our aunt emailed us about a house that she passed every day on her way to work. We called the real estate place, and checked it out a couple times. We even had it inspected to make sure it was alright, since it was a foreclosure that obviously needed some work.

After a couple weeks of haggling and getting everything worked out, we closed on it yesterday. It's so nice to have a place that we'll be able to do with as we please, versus not really being able to make changes in a rental. Plus, we got a good deal on it for the area. It'll definitely be a work of love though. It's got some crazy stuff going on, like lots of bead board. And deer and eagle wallpaper! (Seriously, who does that??) But our plan is to just take it room by room, and make it our own.

So we know have a nearly 1700 square foot house with a half acre of land, and hope to get it ready to pass the Asheville city inspection as soon as this weekend. It has a few things that need to be fixed, such as putting in a hot water heater and replacing some sheetrock and deck railings. Our game plan is to get this stuff done, get the master bedroom fixed up, and then start moving in the beginning of September. I'm being slightly neurotic and insisting we move in September, so that we'll have only lived in 2 houses since we got married in February, instead of 3 houses in 6 months. For my sanity, I need that.

Too cute

This has become quite possibly my favorite picture. While they fight a lot, this is how they like to sleep. :)(And props to my dad; he made the quilt they're laying on from my camp t-shirts.)

Another kitten!

I can't believe it's been a week, and I'm just now posting about our newest baby, Sam! I brought him home on the fourth of July, courtesy of Mike and Liza Brown. At the time I took all these pictures, he was just over 6 weeks old.

Oh, and he's my cuddle monster. He can't be called a cuddle bug, because he's huge. Poor little Alice can wrap her front legs around his head. He wraps his around her whole body.

Anyway, after a couple days of hissing and gnashing of teeth, they've become big buddies. Now if only I could convince them not to wrestle when they sit on me. Or to not sit on my so much. I can't be on the couch or floor without at least one of them curled up on my lap or shoulder!

Lots of Randomness

We've moved again. We're living in Spruce Pine now, at least for a little while. Hopefully in the next couple weeks we'll know if we're going to stay here or move somewhere else. There's nothing better than the uncertainty of job hunting!

Sean re-interviewed at the prison today, and I interviewed with Mt. Airy PD last week. Both look pretty promising, so we just have to wait and see what we get.

We also got a kitten. Her name is Alice, and she likes to attack and cuddle, depending on her mood. I'm the one she wants to sit with, though! Too cute. Now we just need to find her a playmate. I'm hoping for a little boy!

Moving...again.

We're moving. There just aren't jobs here right now, and we're wasting money paying rent. Sean's parents have a house that they rent out, and the previous renters left a couple months ago. They've been working on replacing the floors and stuff, so it's stayed empty. They've offered it to us for as long as we need it, so we're taking them up on the offer.

I'm not really looking forward to packing everything again. We'll move most of it this weekend, so we really need to get on that. That means one of us has to go find boxes TODAY!

On top of all this, Sean takes his NCLEX boards on June 24. He's stressing about that and studying constantly. We'll be moving quick so that he can stay focused on that. It's a big deal. He has to pass it to be an RN, and really to find a job. But hopefully, once he passes, he can find a job quickly and we can get settled into somewhere for awhile.

All I can say is, he's promised me a kitten, and I better get it soon!

What were they thinking?

One of my least favorite things about this house is the random, plastic, white picket fence across the front of the yard.

Just the front. And did I mention plastic????

Anyway, a firefighter came by the other morning and told us that it was too close to the fire hydrant. Yay!

So Sean told our landlord, and is now taking it down! (Speaking of, our landlord told him to not break it, and to cut the grass.

I plan to take a new picture later today once the grass is cut, so I can show how nice our yard looks when it isn't blocked by plastic fencing.



REALLY...PLASTIC!

Guess what I made today?

BAGELS!

Well, I actually started them yesterday, because they have to retard in the refrigerator overnight. I followed a recipe I found on www.SmittenKitchen.com. Since I don't like raisins (and don't have any!) I left them out and just used cinnamon. These are definitely something I want to keep in my arsenal. They do take some time, but they're good.

I do have to say that they aren't quite the same texture as the ones you can buy in a bagel shop. They're a little more chewy. From the recipe though, I learned that these are textured more like the original bagels. And regardless, they're good. I had one for lunch plain. The only thing I would do differently is to add a bit more cinnamon. But that's not a bagel thing; I add extra to everything I use it in!

Anyway, here are some pictures.



Just out of the fridge, right before I boil them. There's a total of 14.

Boiling. Each one boils for a minute on each side.

Here they are after boiling. It made them swell a little and get nice and soggy!


And finally, the finished product! They're nice and golden brown!