WE OWN A HOUSE!

Stacey: We were so busy we forgot to post that we actually own the house now! All the papers were signed on Thursday morning and Justin went straight to work this weekend ripping up carpet and cleaning. I made lists. :-) Met some of our neighbors yesterday, people who've lived in that neighborhood for years and years. It was really reassuring as they look at for each other and keep an eye on the house. They recognized Justin & I but we had to introduce Phil so they would know not to call the cops on him. All of them knew the last owner, Josephine, and have probably spent more time in the house than we have. They have our floorplan down! So we're off to a good start! Hope all is well with everyone.

One Good Turn...

Justin: So no, there are no pictures of Stacey and I actually together yet, however here is a decent one of her and Oscar.. and a good one of The OscarMeyer in his favorite state - semi-comatose.

Stacey and Oscar


Another exhausting day for the the Oscarmeyer...

The Mystery Man

Is that a zepplin??


Stacey: For everyone wondering who Justin is, here is a picture. He's pretty camera shy but I can't criticize-I usually run from cameras. But I'm sure there will be more pics in the future. Most of them will probably be of Oscar (aka pinball) but there will be more pics. As for Justin, he's a great guy-very loving and patient and funny and creative and intelligent and I love him dearly. For the Irwin family and Stacey-friends reading this, I can't wait for you to meet him! Hope all is well with everyone! Five days until closing!

Whoever draws my name this year...

Stacey: Remember that nothing says love like a Home Depot gift certificate!

So we've started planning for remodeling and all of a sudden I'm figuring costs to replace windows and getting estimates for hardwood refinishing and I have no idea how people have owned homes.
Better yet, I'm not sure how my parents owned a home and could still afford not to sell their children to a sweatshop in Indonesia.
Seriously though, we'll be fine and we have plenty of time to get everything done but I'm definitely going to think twice about paying covers anymore. It'll have to be one heck of a band to get my $7 from now on!
Hopefully my dad will be one of those retired guys who gets tired of puttering around the house and will be looking for projects to do. I'll gladly buy a plane ticket for free labor.
Anyways, after blinding ourselves by hours of intense concentration at the sherwin-williams website, we've almost agreed on colors. And I'm sure everyone was very worried about that...

Hope all is well with everyone!

Little House on the... err.. Dade Ave.

Justin: So here are a few pictures of the house. These were taken with a wide angle conversion lens on the c5050 so I could get a bit more detail.
We met with our mortgage lender yesterday and I'll be damned if they are not in kahootz with the logging industry and the medical practices, namely eye care and physical therapy. After reading and signing all of that paperwork I couldn't focus and my hand was all locked up...


The side door through the glassed in addition. 


El Bano. Great tile flooring... 


Poor attic shot. The attic is rather spacious.The side behind me is almost as large. The wide angle converter lensblocked out part of the flash... 


Living room from corner. If you could look farther right you would be looking into the kitchen. 


Kitchen. Stacey digs the red countertop... 


Master bedroom 


Office looking right into small hallway and into guest bedroom 


Office looking back into kitchen.  


Inside side addition - glass and screen 


Rear view from corner of yard 


Corner lot, front view 

Sand In My Shorts

Dune fence and cabana

small shot of our suite and sissy chatting with her beau


Papaw and Hayden MB 5.2005 



Justin: So the weekend was good. I want a different camera, but the weekend was good.
The weather was great beginning Sat so we all finally got a little color to our cheeks. I missed OJ and Kara missed her beau, but we had a good time none the less. Hayden had a blast running laps between the ocean and sand castles while myself and mom laid out like geckos poolside. I'll tell you what, the servers (female of course) LOVED Hayden. I mean everytime we went out he got something for free. And I'm not just talking a balloon. If it wasn't a flat out free dessert, it was ice cream and one lady actually gave him a stuffed teddy bear that she won in an arcade machine some minutes before.
How scary is that? I'd like to think it says something about the boy's charm and not the desperation of beachside restaurant employees... Anyway, he ate it up and so did my dad, who just beamed with pride the whole time. Too funny. Kara was too busy working on a plan to counteract the on coming sugar-high to really care either way.

Oh, as for the camera comment, I've just decided that I want a dSLR. I know, I know - who doesn't - but I was just too frustrated trying to pull off any action shots with my c5050, hence the stills.
Blech.
Luckily my dad's canon wasn't too bad in bright light and we snapped a couple of pictures of Hayden and Kara on his first roller coaster there at the Pavillion. I'll post those pictures when mom and dad send me copies.
I'm also working on figuring out how to add pics to certain posts instead of the whole blog... bear with me as this is all a learning process.

Poor Timing

Justin: Oh it's nothing serious, really, so don't go getting concerned. I am simply going out of town for several days to be with my parents, sister and nephew and will not have the chance to update the site, get on to posting pics or even work on the several PCs I have scattered about my office. As much fun as I will have in Myrtle Beach there are just so many things around here that need to be worked on and finished up.

And Stacey isn't even going, darn it. My nephew will be TICKED. And we all know how that goes: When the 3 year old isn't happy, NOBODY is happy.

Oh! We were informed yesterday that the seller of the house returned our offer, signed, so we are essentially locked into the contract. Barring significant findings, of course. One step closer... Stacey is chomping at the bit to get into the loan paperwork.

I will be back on Tuesday and have Wednesday off so I plan on getting some pictures posted. I will put a couple up of the house and probably some general shots.

The Prequel Post...

Justin: So it seems in our test of this service we posted a few thoughts before posting the bones of this site.

We're lazy.

Okay, so not really, it just seems that way when it comes to communicating with everyone. I suppose it is a blessing to have so many friends and loved ones in your life, however sharing time with everyone and still managing your own priorities can be quite the challenge. I personally have been apalled at how much time has already past this year. It seems everytime I turn around another week has gone by and that's another seven days I haven't returned someone's phone call.

So we decided to try out a blog site. At least this way some of our goings on and thoughts can be shared and posted for those concerned, along with being a small vent of our own. We will be posting pictures of the house, trips, of Oscar (aka Pinball) and misc events as they occur, and I've faith in Stace to post her thoughts almost daily so check back often.

Before you actually get the keys

STACEY: What you're not prepared for is the three to four weeks of waiting imagining everything that could wrong between the time you put in the offer and close on the house. You know, like finding major structural damage, a counter offer, plague and pestilence, things like that. Justin says I worry too much. That worries me. But I'm not afraid of actually getting into the house or of living with someone or the compromises that we'll have to make. I'm more afraid of not getting all of that. But Justin is the eternal optimist so he balances me out. The Oscardog is equally optimistic and looking forward to finally getting his own room. Talk to everyone later, Stacey