Things Aren't That Bad

Well, after the presidential debate, I feel a little better, although my reading is still depressing me. But life goes on.

Friday was my Nate's birthday and we started celebrating on Thursday and finished on Sunday, so all in all, things were pretty good for a birthday celebration.

We also started looking at houses and were neither excited (we saw several nice houses but not our house yet), nor dismayed. We're starting to get an idea of what we can afford and what kind of house that will be. I'm almost 100% positive that we are going to spend more than we first thought, which is what I'm sure almost everyone does, but how much more is yet to be determined. Life will definitely be interesting in the coming months as we look for houses and figure out what exactly we want.

To give you an idea, yesterday we saw a really great cottage in an old part of town that had been worked on but not completely renovated. It was a very cute house with gorgeous wood floors and tons of windows. The problems: the best bathroom was in the hall, not the one near the master bedroom, which meant guests would be using our bathroom (not a huge issue, but something to consider). The plentiful windows, while providing tons of light, were original and the house was built in 1911, so can you say drafty? We knew the energy waste would be high and also the utility bills. Fixable, but slightly pricey. There were five doors in this house: a front door, a back door, and a door to each bedroom leading outside. We figured at some point the house was converted into a rental unit, with each room having its own private door. Now, having five points of entry in a three bedroom house is freaky and gave me some security concerns but doors can be replaced. This was a pretty big problem because all solutions to the multiple doors will require time and money. And finally, in this old house, there were only two closets, both very tiny. So, some problems and issues and work needed. In the end, it didn't feel right anyway, but that example goes to show how many little things you have to think about. Neighborhood, style of house, size, amenities, price, etc. How much work are we willing to do? That's a question we're asking ourselves now.

This weekend we're going to Midland to visit the familia and also driving to Fort Davis. They are having their 150-year anniversary and we're going since there is also going to be a Dutchover family reunion that same weekend. Should be fun, but there's going to be a lot of driving.