One, Two, Three Weeks From Now

One week from today, god willing, we are scheduled to settle on our house.   This is NOT the market to sell a home in and after all the work we've put into it, it's really hard to swallow writing such a huge check to get rid of it.  I wish I could be happy about it, but it's really hard.  Adding to the stress is the fact they wanted such a quick settlement (2 weeks and 1 day after they put in their offer), we are having to rent back since there is no way we can be out by settlement, and we failed the radon test.  It has been a roller coaster of emotions and negotiations.  I am looking forward to it being done!

Two weeks from tomorrow will be my last day at my job and I am officially unemployed.  I'm thinking of bartending or cocktail waitressing once I get down there so I'll have more flexibility as far as my schedule and pay, but jobs are competitive down there, so I'm just going to have to wait and see where the journey takes me.

And three weeks from today, we will be moving out of Maryland.  This is the only place I can ever remember calling home and I really have no idea how I'm going to take it.  Leaving our family, our friends, everything that is familiar to us, the first house we bought together and all our memories is beyond bittersweet.  It is sometimes hard to remember in all this chaos and stress that this is really what I want.

BUT, the great part of my week was that Jimmy and I were down in Florida for the last 5 days and found an AMAZING place to rent.  We totally lucked out finding a place the guy was desperate to get rented quickly and gave us a $400/month discount over what he was originally asking.  No way we would be living there had he not!   So this is where Jimmy and I will be 
calling home between now and at least October 31, 2009!


Foyer



Guest Room #1 - We're leaving their furniture in there.


Guest Room #2 - We're leaving the bunk beds so we can sleep more people and still fit our desk in there.  I guess we'll have to pull straws when we're having a bunch of people in town at once.


   

The kitchen!  I'm in love with the fact that on top of an island we also have the breakfast bar where you can pull up a stool.  The granite countertops and large pantry also soften the blow of leaving the great kitchen we have now!  :)

  

The combination living room/dining room.  I think it's about the same size as what we have now, but I haven't measure yet to see how far I may be off.  All their ugly furniture, including the decorative mallards will be packed away and put in storage as soon as we get there!  The 4 panel slider at the back of the living room opens completely up onto the balcony and we can hear the ocean from the kitchen!!!  



Our master bedroom.  I finally have a bedroom big enough for a king size bed!!!  And from the bed you can see the ocean!!!  And it has his and her's walk-in closets!  I am in heaven!




 
 

What's that a toilet with it's own door AND a big tub???  I've died and gone to heaven!!!

 
 

 
 

And the very best part is the view from our over sized balcony where we can see and hear the ocean waves crashing!!!  The first place we looked at had a perfect view with no obstructions in between, but this place is so much bigger and nicer that it was worth the compromise.  


Was I really complaining about selling my house???   The last few weeks have been incredibly stressful, and I know the next few weeks aren't going to be much better, but I do have some fantastic things, including our new place, to look forward to.  We found out while we were in FL that the next shuttle launch is scheduled for my birthday, the week after we move down, and it looks like there is a good chance we will have at least one friend coming down for it!!!  We also learned from our real estate agent that there is a "Turkey Trot" on Thanksgiving Day which is a 10K (I think) run where people run through the streets carrying turkeys (why I have no idea, but that is definitely right up Jimmy's alley).

So I am exhausted and am going to get to bed, but I know there were a lot of people waiting to see pics.  And as you can see we have plenty of room for people to come visit.  Right now it looks like Lydia, Matt and Mike may win the "first to visit" award, but we'd still love to see you soon!



"Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home, sweet home
For there the heart can rest."
~Henry Van Dyke