May I Introduce You to....

My brand-spanking-new appliances that I only paid $250 out of pocket for (the sellers paid the remaining cost!). I am utterly in love with them. And I haven't even used them yet!!

The LG front-loader washer and dryer. Not the biggest ever - in fact they are the smallest LG makes, but hey! I'm only living there by myself and the most important part: I can wash my sleeping bags in them, my down coats, and my quilts that I make. Supposedly I can wash my queen-size comforter in it too. Oh! And the washer is Energy Star - it has its own water heater so my local gas company will give me a rebate!! And the drum moves by way of magnets (or something rather) rather than a belt. :)

And then my refrigerator! It's a GE ... "Stainless Clean" - I think that's what they call it. It's not real stainless steel, but it won't show the fingerprints that stainless steel does and it will hold magnets, and it was $100 cheaper than the stainless steel version. It's an Energy Star too!!
Whoever would have thought I'd be so excited about appliances.... but I think I am because the sellers are paying for them!

Big News on a Fun Day!!

Woo hoo! I haven't had a blog entry like this in a long time!! I have three posts in one to write tonight.

#1
I made an offer on a condo in Springville yesterday... and today they accepted it!! They didn't even counter my offer - and we asked for them to pay my closing costs and give me an appliance allowance. Can you believe that?! I'm so stoked. And it will be perfect timing because we're due to close by November 20th - which is the very day my roommate gets married. And that's in time for the $8,000 credit. It's beautiful. I'll post pictures later - probably in December - when I'm all moved in.

#2
I bought my first ever season pass to a ski resort today... and to all places... Sundance! Can you believe it? I never would have thought. I never liked Sundance in the past because they got so little snow and they have so few runs and lifts. But... when I discovered that the pass also got me access to free mountain biking in the summer and free moon-lit lift rides... I was sold. So I took the dive today!

#3
I played hooky from work with Lindsey today and we went antique shop hopping (in addition to buying our season passes). Since we were up at Sundance and headed to American Fork to the next antique shop we decided to drive around the Alpine Loop and enjoy the fall colors. They were gorgeous!! It was a such a fun day. And I even bought a few pieces for my new place at the antique shop in American Fork - an end table, small dresser, antique hand-crank sewing machine and cool old frame.

I cannot wait to start decorating my house!! And organizing where I will put stuff in the kitchen and laundry room and guest rooms. Oh man. I am so ecstatic!

And Pemberley Goes to Caroline Bingley

Well, my beloved condo at Pemberley has slipped out of my hands. It has gone to the other buyer. :( This is not at all how Jane Austen intended! (And a bitter side note: the buyer was getting a VA loan... for veterans... so the odds are likely that he will not appreciate the ties back to Pride & Prejudice in his new residence.)

I am now back to the drawing board.

Wordless Wednesday - Still Waiting to Hear on my Dream-Condo

Pursuing Some Progression

Well, I think I may have found the avenue of progression that is fitting just right! Buying a place here in Utah.

I know, I know... what happened to Seattle? Well.... the economy happened. And it's not off my radar entirely... if an excellent job crops up then awesome! I'll move up there and I'll sell my place and have a little money to take with me so I can buy another place.

So back to the news: I found myself a real estate agent and we looked at some properties here in Provo... but .... no. They were not for me. And then we went to Pleasant Grove and Springville on this last Thursday. The Springville places were not great either. But Pleasant Grove, oh Pleasant Grove! Actually, I spied a condo WITH A GARAGE in a development in Pleasant Grove on the internet before I ever contacted my agent. I just had a feeling about that place... that'd I love it and that it would be just right! There was another place in Pleasant Grove (PG) that was really nice, but it just seemed so big.... so not "me-sized". Plus, it didn't have a garage - only a car port. But I will say it is my second-choice.

So anyways... my first choice: It's in a development called... and get how appropriate this is: Pemberley!! (The pictures in this post are of Pemberley.) Pemberley is from Pride & Prejudice!! It is Mr. Darcy's mansion!! And guess who owns 3 different versions of Pride & Prejudice (movies)? ME!! And to take it a step further, the floor plans are even named "Bennett", "Wickham", "Collins" and "Meryton" from the book and movies!! Just by the name of development it is soooo appropriate that I live there. :)

The more time passes since I walked through the condo, the more I know this is where I am supposed to be. Everything seems to be falling into my lap and into place... and all in perfect timing! So I called my agent on Friday and said - let's make an offer. And we did. I signed the offer yesterday.

So let me give you a little context and you'll see how this seems to all be falling into place:

• The condo is a short sale which makes it within my price range... and which makes it such that I am walking into a ton of equity right off the bat. Others in the development have sold for a lot more than I will be paying for this one and thus a lot more above my price range.
• It has been on the market since February of this year and has not sold ... I guess because it is a short sale and that really discourages people from pursuing them because they take so long to get approved by the bank(s).
  
• There is actually an offer on it right now - so this guy has gone through all the hoops to get a price (within my range) approved by the banks... but unfortunately, his agent told the listing agent that his loan is probably going to fall through... and that we'd know by tomorrow, Monday, October 5th.
• It is everything I have been dreaming about: garage, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, no one above me and a nice, safe-feeling neighborhood.
  
• If this poor guy's loan falls through and they accept my offer for their pre-approved price then I could feasibly close by the middle of November which would put me in time for the $8,000 credit from the government for first-time home buyers.
  
• Which the middle of November would be perfect timing because my roommate that owns the house I live in right now just dropped the bomb on me that she is getting married!!! They are shooting for November 20th of this year too.... 4 days after this place could feasibly be mine to move into.
  
• My new roommate, Tracy, that was going to move in with me and Jen, decided not to move in ... and if she had... I would have felt guilty leaving her so soon after she moved in and needed me to help her acclimate to a new ward and neighborhood... but she decided to not move in and thus removing my possible guilt and saving Jen (the roommate getting married) from needing to kick us both out!
• And the most trivial of all things to fall into place, but one that still means a lot to me... is that I can keep my morning work-out routine!!! The Gold's Gym in American Fork is only 4 minutes away from Pemberley and their spin classes start 15 minutes earlier than the ones I go to right now which will help me accommodate my longer commute to work!! (I would only have to be better about getting up a little earlier.)
  
• And then last but not least... I think I've decided to apply for the executive MPA (Master of Public Administration) program at BYU for next fall. That program doesn't require you to take a graduate admission exam and it's only one night a week of classes and I'd have summer term off so I could get some vacation time in then... whereas the eMBA program is 2 nights per week and 2 years nonstop of school with your only break during Christmas - plus I'd have to take the GMAT for it (which the studying for that is going horribly) and it would cost more money out of pocket for me.

So can you believe all of that?! That is way too many coincidences and too many perfect timings for this to be mere coincidence... this is being orchestrated by the Master Orchestrator!! I can feel it... the rightness of it.... the peaceful feeling... I'm scared to say it because I know I am suppose to keep my hopes down since it might not work out, this guy's loan could still go through, or they could counter my offer even though it is for their pre-approved price.... BUT I'M DANG EXCITED AND I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO WORK OUT!!!

I've already been internet shopping for my needed stuff - washer, dryer, silverware, knives, couch, TV, bathroom rugs and another shower curtain... etc. Plus I've been dreaming of other stuff too... painting.... how I'm going to decorate and all that fun stuff! I know... bad Jessika. But I can dream!!

And you know what? I'll have my own place... one I can decorate without feeling like I'm overstepping my bounds ... one where I can organize the kitchen the way I want to... one where I can have a guest stay with me and they can have their own bedroom and bathroom ... one where I can get out all of my pretty stuff that I've been collecting over the years and have been too afraid to get it out for fear roommates would ruin it or break it or because there just wasn't room for it. I can start being a homemaker.... instead of just dreaming about doing it some day.

Sigh. (Imagine a smile of contentment on my face.)

Cross your fingers for me! Or pray for me! ... cuz I really dread the idea of needing to get new roommates again and it is now inevitable since Jen is getting married.

The Bane of My Gardening

It must know it is gonna get tossed soon.... of course it would pull out all the stops and actually bloom now that it is the end of September and I'm sick of watering it. Good grief! I swear, I have not gotten 20 blooms from this pot and it decides to bloom with gusto this week.

I've already tossed my pot that was out front. The Fuchsia never grew so it withered and died - I guess the Bacopa choked it out, but did a good job hiding the dead Fuchsia so I never bothered to pull it out of the pot. But Bacopa is a spring plant and likes cooler temperatures so it has hardly bloomed this summer too... so when I forgot to water it this week and it dried up, I did a little "Whoop!" and tossed it.

The Cala Lilly is the only thing that has brought me joy this spring/summer. And it is left over from last year! Last year I just tossed it in the garage and didn't water it all winter and then when it started to warm up I brought it out to the sunshine and forgot to water it for 2 weeks. But you know what? That little Cala Lilly survived! In fact, better than survived - it actually grew! So after that I remembered to water it.

As for my garden? Well, I've enjoyed a few strawberries from it, and a few peas, and some fresh parsley. But the slugs and the pill bugs enjoyed more of the fruits of my labor than I did! I waged a serious genocide on the slugs - even resorting to salt! - but I never bothered to learn how to get rid of the pill bugs. The dill I tried to grow never took root so I yanked it. The peas produced a little considering how late I planted them, but as soon as they were infested with pill bugs and looking bad, I yanked them too. My parsley has been amazing!! That's the only thing that has flourished in my garden. Other than the slugs and pill bugs, of course.

The lack of sunlight and the daily lawn sprinklers that water my garden are apparently the bane of my gardening.... but this year's wet spring and summer is what brought the slugs on.

But I also liked seeing the Praying Mantis. Kinda cool. :)

Wordless Wednesday - The Most Beautiful Mtn Biking Ride EVER!!