So its been a minute. I was sitting here drinking a glass of wine reading blogs like oh wait - I have a blog - I should check on it.
I can't believe its been almost 2 yrs since I wrote on here last in 2016. Since then, we are well settled into our new home and have a 2nd child. We welcomed our second baby boy in July of 2017 - we've been busy to say the least! Hoping I can sign on more often and really keep up with the blogging.
My eldest will be turning 3 in a few days and our youngest had his 1st birthday almost a month ago. Our life the last few months has been potty training and transitioning to solid foods. Good times I tell ya. Anyway, they are awesome and fun to watch every single day. Although they are so young, they fight and laugh and play like brothers should.
My eldest has also been in 'school' for over a year, its really his daycare early learning center. He's learned and grown so much, I'm proud of him.
Work is work, I may complain every now and then, but deep down I truly enjoy my job and I still feel I'm learning so much every single day.
Hope to find time to share more and FYI - wine and coffee have become my best friend!
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Saturday, June 25, 2016
The Woes of Single-Family Home Ownership
Owning a single-family home is a money pit. We knew this and we still wanted a home. Millions of Americans are single-family homeowners...why I ask! why!!??? Okay, I'm being dramatic but its hard to maintain. Mowing lawns, shoveling, cleaning, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance - more money out of our pockets. We didn't buy this home in bad shape, we just want to make it our own. First thing when we moved in, my biggest fear...bugs, ants, and spiders...I'm aware this happens in homes - we've slowly got them to go away, we still see them once in awhile but with preventative maintenance, its gotten better. I won't talk about it too much otherwise I get really uncomfortable...we won't go there.
So far we've taken down the front hall closet and replaced the wood floors with nice tiles in the front foyer. I plan on placing a tree storage bench there...I found it on Pinterest. We replaced all the blinds in our home, the blinds are nice but we have some issues with them, we went to Budget Blinds, its not budget necessarily because they are cheap, they are custom, they call themselves Budget Blinds because supposedly they can fit any budget... how clever. Anyway, our rep sucks and my patience is running out because something already malfunctioned and needs to be replaced. She sucks...I cannot stress it enough...SHE SUCKS. Okay rant over. Next incident, we came home one night after dinner with a friend to find out our garage suddenly decided not to open. No shit. Why won't you open? We have the baby in the car and its 11:30pm. Had to call a locksmith...$150 to open a storm door, of course we had it locked since we always went into the house through the garage door. Boo. Just this week alone, we had a tree on the side of our house removed, one big tree in the front yard trimmed, a bush removed, and mulch and small grass and shrubs removed from the front and backyard. It looks better now. Now we plan on placing stones, lights, brick, and boulders in its place. We also had our garage drywalled and now its ready to paint and prepare it for storage.
We accept the challenge. Owning this home will be our project. Hopefully we don't F**K it up! Otherwise I'll be showing you photos of our new townhome or large condo, just kidding. You pay an assessment and like magic...all that outside work is done for you, so maybe I'm not kidding. Anyway, we figure millions of other Americans do it, so we should be just as capable. There is some uncertainty is that last statement. :)
So far we've taken down the front hall closet and replaced the wood floors with nice tiles in the front foyer. I plan on placing a tree storage bench there...I found it on Pinterest. We replaced all the blinds in our home, the blinds are nice but we have some issues with them, we went to Budget Blinds, its not budget necessarily because they are cheap, they are custom, they call themselves Budget Blinds because supposedly they can fit any budget... how clever. Anyway, our rep sucks and my patience is running out because something already malfunctioned and needs to be replaced. She sucks...I cannot stress it enough...SHE SUCKS. Okay rant over. Next incident, we came home one night after dinner with a friend to find out our garage suddenly decided not to open. No shit. Why won't you open? We have the baby in the car and its 11:30pm. Had to call a locksmith...$150 to open a storm door, of course we had it locked since we always went into the house through the garage door. Boo. Just this week alone, we had a tree on the side of our house removed, one big tree in the front yard trimmed, a bush removed, and mulch and small grass and shrubs removed from the front and backyard. It looks better now. Now we plan on placing stones, lights, brick, and boulders in its place. We also had our garage drywalled and now its ready to paint and prepare it for storage.
We accept the challenge. Owning this home will be our project. Hopefully we don't F**K it up! Otherwise I'll be showing you photos of our new townhome or large condo, just kidding. You pay an assessment and like magic...all that outside work is done for you, so maybe I'm not kidding. Anyway, we figure millions of other Americans do it, so we should be just as capable. There is some uncertainty is that last statement. :)
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
The Adjustment Period.
So here we are, we've left the comforts of our one-bedroom condo, the same condo where we didn't have to mow a lawn, shovel snow, or even go outside to throw out the trash. We'd come home and chill - not a worry in the world. It was a hop and skip from the Metra train, near restaurants and some local bars, things were open late, and not too far of a commute from the city nightlife.
Now...Hello to suburban family life! We live in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded by parks and families just like us - lots of babies and toddlers. Our son will be lucky enough to attend award winning schools, have his own room, and a decent size backyard to play in. Some of these things my husband and I didn't have growing up and of course, we want to give our child the world - things we had, and more.
Businesses in this neighborhood close early - no late night taco joints, 24 hr Subways or all night diners. It's very residential. We have retail and businesses across from our neighborhood that I can walk to - Starbucks, Subway, Jewel, some Italian restaurant and pizza joint....still - they close early.
Going to the city to soak in some culture and grab a phenomenal meal, or just to enjoy the walks and cocktails on a rooftop somewhere requires planning. Not to mention, the expressway to get there has ridiculous construction and the traffic situation makes you tired before you even leave the house.
So here I am, one who is used to the comforts of condo living, good food, late nights since I'm an owl, and being able to spend money for the most part - comfortably - although I'm not rich by any means. And now I'm thrown into family life, early nights, limited places to go, having to actually plan my outings, and money is tight. Having a young baby also means no sleep, and beauty regimens have been taking a backseat lately. *heavy sigh* Time to be me is limited in every way possible.
Don't get me wrong, I love my life and my family, I look at my husband and son everyday and I'm grateful for them in every way possible.
Now...Hello to suburban family life! We live in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded by parks and families just like us - lots of babies and toddlers. Our son will be lucky enough to attend award winning schools, have his own room, and a decent size backyard to play in. Some of these things my husband and I didn't have growing up and of course, we want to give our child the world - things we had, and more.
Businesses in this neighborhood close early - no late night taco joints, 24 hr Subways or all night diners. It's very residential. We have retail and businesses across from our neighborhood that I can walk to - Starbucks, Subway, Jewel, some Italian restaurant and pizza joint....still - they close early.
Going to the city to soak in some culture and grab a phenomenal meal, or just to enjoy the walks and cocktails on a rooftop somewhere requires planning. Not to mention, the expressway to get there has ridiculous construction and the traffic situation makes you tired before you even leave the house.
So here I am, one who is used to the comforts of condo living, good food, late nights since I'm an owl, and being able to spend money for the most part - comfortably - although I'm not rich by any means. And now I'm thrown into family life, early nights, limited places to go, having to actually plan my outings, and money is tight. Having a young baby also means no sleep, and beauty regimens have been taking a backseat lately. *heavy sigh* Time to be me is limited in every way possible.
Don't get me wrong, I love my life and my family, I look at my husband and son everyday and I'm grateful for them in every way possible.
Monday, June 20, 2016
From Me to We
Me before He.
Life is good. I was single at first, first-time and proud homeowner of a nice one bedroom condo - which I kept very neat and immaculate, money was managed properly because I was the only person I had to worry about. I worked a decent job where I could pay bills, save some, and still have a little left to play with. An average day for me would be to wake up, go to work, study (I was in grad school) and after work - I had no responsibilities so I could spend endless time at the gym working out, binge watching reality TV on the couch, or out with friends laughing and drinking myself stupid. On the weekends, Saturdays were me time - nothing dictated my time on Saturdays - I did what I wanted, that was the rule. Sundays were for God and family.
Me + He.
Now there's two of us. Life is great! We learn from one another and experience new things together. It's a relationship high - you meet someone you fall in love with, you go out and vacation, make new friends, eat at great places, and cannot wait until the next time you get to do it again. I met my husband in the spring time, it was very random - and I never in my life would've thought we'd end up where we are now. He moved in after 7 months of dating, we got engaged a year and a half later, then got married 9 months after that. Things progress quickly when you find someone that makes life beautiful.
Now We are Three.
We found out we were expecting 5 months after getting married. Our son is amazing and our life will never be the same. We quickly outgrew our 1 bedroom condo and knew we needed a bigger home. So we searched and found something, our son was 2 months old when we moved. The new house is in the suburbs, great school district, a neighborhood with lots of families and parks. It's perfect now that we have started our own little family. We are blessed.
Life is good. I was single at first, first-time and proud homeowner of a nice one bedroom condo - which I kept very neat and immaculate, money was managed properly because I was the only person I had to worry about. I worked a decent job where I could pay bills, save some, and still have a little left to play with. An average day for me would be to wake up, go to work, study (I was in grad school) and after work - I had no responsibilities so I could spend endless time at the gym working out, binge watching reality TV on the couch, or out with friends laughing and drinking myself stupid. On the weekends, Saturdays were me time - nothing dictated my time on Saturdays - I did what I wanted, that was the rule. Sundays were for God and family.
Me + He.
Now there's two of us. Life is great! We learn from one another and experience new things together. It's a relationship high - you meet someone you fall in love with, you go out and vacation, make new friends, eat at great places, and cannot wait until the next time you get to do it again. I met my husband in the spring time, it was very random - and I never in my life would've thought we'd end up where we are now. He moved in after 7 months of dating, we got engaged a year and a half later, then got married 9 months after that. Things progress quickly when you find someone that makes life beautiful.
Now We are Three.
We found out we were expecting 5 months after getting married. Our son is amazing and our life will never be the same. We quickly outgrew our 1 bedroom condo and knew we needed a bigger home. So we searched and found something, our son was 2 months old when we moved. The new house is in the suburbs, great school district, a neighborhood with lots of families and parks. It's perfect now that we have started our own little family. We are blessed.
Why this Blog?
I'm starting this blog to document a few new things I'm doing - I'm challenging myself to become an improved version of myself by learning new things. This is all very straight-forward, here a few things I'm going to challenge myself to doing. I'll be blogging and sharing my progression...or non-progression with whomever chooses to read.
- Fit Challenge.
- Trying new things with my look. (Clothing, make-up, hair)
- Eating and Cooking Better.
- Planting herbs and vegetables.
- Rehabbing and organizing my home.
- Finding ways to make more money.
- Finding ways to save money.
Enjoy my self-experiment. There is a reason for all this...of course you'll have to read on to find out.
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