So here it is, my very first blog! Well, my very first blog HERE. On this particular blog, right at this particular second. ::crowd goes wild:: I know, I know.

So this is the Mini Moo. Aka Emma Maroo. Even on occassion, Emmie, if you’re into actual names and all that jazz:

She’s positively adorable, but don’t let that fool you, it’s just a rouse.

You see, Emmie is a pica. This means she enjoys nothing more than putting all things non-edible into her mouth and then into her tummy. I think she spends a good portion of her day planning out the many ways she can challenge her disgestive system and then spends the rest of it executing those schemes.

But I adore her and have accepted all her terrible ideas. Acceptance, however, did not prevent her from eating whatever fantastical object she most recently sampled and I spent the afternoon sitting in the vet’s office, waiting on x-rays.

The good news is nothing seemed to be inside her. This just means that whatever it is that is causing this adventure in diaherrhia is gone and I’ll spend the next two weeks shoveling various meds into her face and playing guess-the-irritant with her meals. Sigh.

She really is lucky she’s damn cute.

But she’s way tired.

So I keep swearing I’ll get to this blog and I never do! I effin’ blow, I know. So let’s see… Emmie is almost a year old! Her big bad birthday is December 7th. I remembered because I got a birthday card for her from the vet in the mail yesterday lol. I took some fantabulous pictures of her and Bailey (aka Facey) for our holiday cards. I have to yank em off the camera and post them. They’re awesome. I thought I’d be clever and put little reindeer and elf hats on them and that idea lasted about 0.2 seconds before Emmie decided to try to eat her hat.. and I had little gold glitter plastic snowflakes that I had to keep wrestling out of Bailey’s mouth. Good dog.

So we FINALLY bought a house!!! ::crowd goes wild:: After, what, SIX months of looking we FINALLY found a home that Sean and I both managed to agree on. It doesn’t have laminates (damn all carpet to the depths of carpet hell, I tell you) so that will be a “next year when we are less broke” project. We also are trying to paint better colors on the walls, they had very mod taste. But here are some before’s:

Okay so next weekend I plan to sit my arse down and revamp my site. Why do I pay for hosting if I don’t LOVE on my blog like I used to!? =)

(Plus I miss having bloggy buddies, Anna makes me miss it)

SOOOOOOOOOO I have oodles of pics to upload! We recently got back from our trip to Spirit Lake and the poopies had a blast - Emmie swims! She’s nearly a YEAR OLD now and such a beautiful evil dog. I loves her.

ALSO we just put in our very first offer on a home - AND WE’RE THRILLED. Though it doesn’t mean at all they’ll even accept lol but the point is I’m going to just pretend I know they will and continue to pee my pants with happiness. =)

It’s 2,696 square feet. It’s got 4 bedrooms, a study/office, an open floorplan and a big open bonus room at the top of the stairs for Sean’s arcade games. FINALLY a home with room for his shiz! CAN WE SAY EXCITED?!?!

Must. post. photos. later.

Every so often I get to thinking I’m pretty cool & hip.. and then I remind myself how dorky I am. Example? I made some soup last night for lunch today and I’ve never made soup from scratch before.. so I text my hubby:

McBrittness: go soup. its yer birthday. get busy. tastin yummy. *folds arms rapper style* UH!

Yup… whose awesometastic? I AM.

So the house hunt continues, even though I’ve been MIA from the web world! Sean is still in school and, due to the delightful non-residency costs of tuition, I’m holding off from starting until Spring. As far as tuition is concerned, we aren’t Texans until December 4th 2008. Between books and so forth, we’re tossing about a grand down each semester for Sean and with the whole we-need-a-down-payment thing, I’m just going to wait a few more months before adding to that! =)

I have no idea what we’re doing. We viewed countless new fabulous homes, and our stern $150k budget (we were approved for oodles more but I’m not letting a mortgage company decide for me what I feel like putting into a mortgage each month) was slowly creeping up to the $200k range. The homes here are gorgeous and there’s just too many to select from. Who knew having choices would be the HARD part? Also, we’re more than a smidge spoiled in our rental home. We’ve got 2,500 sq feet of living space. It was built in 2006 for the builder. We’ve got some hardwood, we’ve got pretty ceramic tiles, we have a garden tub, the world’s largest master bath with double vanities and double walk in closets. Our secondary bedrooms are nicely sized, our yard is large and backs up to nothing. Vaulted ceilings and crown molding, etc.

So when we walk into homes without these things, our brat-attacks trigger and we’re suddenly aware of what it doesn’t have. EVEN if its logically things we don’t need. And we even remind ourselves that our rental home would hit the market at about $245k, waaaay out of our comfort zone, so we’re going to have to make “sacrafices.”

So we put the search on pause and regrouped our brains. Now I’ve decided I refuse to pay more than $135k for a home, and I’d rather buy into a good neighborhood (as my dad so lovingly screams into my ear everytime we chat, “Location! Location!”) and then fix it up. We’ve found some homes that are just that: foreclosures or homes in desperate need of TLC, priced at $20-50k under the comps for the area.

Plus we’ve been watching too much HGTV and we’re convinced we want to tackle makeover projects. We say this now, and while I could handle it, Sean doesn’t exactly have the patience for the projects he SWEARS he does lol. So we’ll see.

We viewed one house before and it was tore back. I loved the area, but we initially almost ran screaming from it. Tons of space (the tough part in our search is Princess Sean demands an oversized gameroom that does not close behind a door like a bedroom), but the folks left in a bitter rage. I don’t recall details, but I remember huge holes in carpet, doorknobs missing, torn wallpaper, etc. I also remember TACKY taste. I do believe an upstairs bedroom had orange walls and spray-painted black closet doors, and a game room being navy and gray walls, poorly painted. BUT we’re viewing it again on Saturday with open minds, because if the house has good bones, we can always slowly rennovate with better paint, laminate flooring and new carpet.

There are two others we plan to look at as well with similar issues. And then, though not our typical style, we were driving in the downtown historic village and saw a home we’ll view. The whole area is slowly getting better. They are rennovating and bringing back the downtown historic strip, complete with large brick 1800’s banks, a malt shoppe, a winery etc. The homes around the area are all very early 1900’s Victorian. And then there is a much smaller (1,650 sq ft, compared to the 2000+ we’re aiming for) older 1960’s home. It needs some attention, the outside has a white picket fence and then a small ZOO of overgrown plants. The inside from photos has some fantastic 1970’s wood paneling on EVERYTHING and even tackier floral brown/yellow tile in the wet areas. But the ROOMS are big, so we’re going to see how it looks as well.

Plus its $110k, which gives us room to afford updates etc.

I’ll keep ya posted!

So after reading Pam’s blog and seeing how she easily (and moreso, cheaply) rennovated a desk off Craigslist, I’ve been in project mode myself. I’m now on a hunt for the perfect free-to-under-$20 dresser, night table and mirror for our guest room. The guest bed is white metal in a sort of French Country type design, very classic. So I plan to paint all three items white to match and then give them some flair to tie in that 1930’s European countryside flair.

What else is new.. Sean and I are beginning the exciting yet horrifyingly daunting task of purchasing our very first home. We have another 5 months in our lease so we’re starting quite early. We figure if the right house at the right price takes us unexpectedly, its worth eating the $2,390.00 penalty to end the lease early .. and if it takes us the ENTIRE rest of the lease to find the right home, we’ll be glad we began the process so soon.

We shopped for prequalification for a mortgage at a few places: Bank of America, Countrywide and HSBC. Unfortunately, thanks to the huge wave of companies that were offering low documentation loans (ie not really verifying folks’ incomes and taking their words on it) and buyers nabbing homes at their max loan approval prices (very dumb - perfect example that Sean and I are prequalified for a loan amount that would be twice as much as we’re comfortable paying toward a mortgage each month, you can imagine the trouble we might find ourselves in if we banked on the loan company to know what our lifestyle could afford) - there is the even newer wave of foreclosure after foreclosure and companies losing big bucks.

This means zero of the companies offer piggy back loans anymore (ie two mortgages, one for 80% and one for 20%, so we eliminate the need for down payment costs or PMI for having less than 20% downpayment). This makes Brittney sad. However, there are 3% down loan options that we are going to do. I also noticed no-down offers through Capital One’s mortgage area, but haven’t called.

That said! We interviewed a few realtors and have selected one, so tonight we’re going to begin viewing homes. There is one home that is a fairly underpriced foreclosure. It makes me wonder if there is structural damage or a LOT of fixer-upper needs that we couldn’t see from the photos online, so she’s looking into finding what she can for us. It sounds like it would have all the space we’d need… but I did notice it has green carpets and the downstairs, while hardwood flooring which I love, is chocolate-colored. I really like the ligher, warmer toned hardwood flooring because it makes a room more inviting. Plus its the exact color of our bookcases and I feel the entire living room would be engulfed in this dark wood color if the floors matched the bookcases, and look really overwhelmed. And it needs warm-toned walls, the gray/white just feels complacent:

Our next thing is, if we find the right house but it does not have the right flooring (I *need* laminate flooring - we have 2 dogs and 4 cats who are completely unforgiving to carpet and I’m absolutely tired of steam cleaning out accidents, hairballs, chew treat stains, mud, grass, etc lol) - the cost of installing it. I know we could paint walls ourselves, add crown molding ourselves… but I’ve never tackled installing flooring before.

I know people who have, but the only one who’ve I’ve seen the results were our old roomie.. who installed cheap IKEA “pergo” type flooring in his condo and the edges where it met the baseboards were terrible. Then again, he was hardly the brightest or most patient person alive, which could have affected the outcome.. AND I don’t think he even bothered to remove the baseboards first.

Hrmm……

Sometimes I wish I was Canadian. And for reasons outside of the prospects of becoming a Mounty and being able to say “Ay?” after everything.

Healthcare in America is just a big business. Take a look at the rates the self-employed are offered. I looked into private healthcare options for my dad, as his employer refuses to offer any, and the price tag is nearly $500+ a month and covers barely anything. And most self-employed people aren’t exactly raking in dough, so he just can’t cover that monthly amount and continues to go without healthcare. At 62, a smoker and a physical laborer - it scares me senseless.

Its also a big negotiating business. Procedures aren’t simply one price and then your plan covers different amounts. Healthcare providers actually negotiate different rates. So let’s say Bob has Insurance A and they didn’t negotiate a fantastic deal for his MRI. So Bob’s MRI’s are $3,000. His 20% copay would be $600.00 … Now lets say Suzy has Insurance B and they’re way craftier and negotiated that same MRI with the same hospital for $1500.00… Her services will be 50% less than Bob’s, even though their coverage is the same.

Bullsnatch, isn’t it?

Here’s a good example. My doctor decided to bill me upfront for my xrays. It was $335.00. He took my insurance card so I assumed he charged me the rates they have contracted with my insurance carrier. However, until a provider submits a claim and receives their Explanation of Benefits package with their contracted rates, they don’t actually know what they can charge me for things.

Turns out, talking to my insurance, their contracted rates came to $226.00 — so my doctor overbilled me $104.00 .. And not be a complety penny pincher, but they best to reimburse me that ASAP. I left a message on their machine since they’re closed already.

And on THAT complaint, wish me luck!!! Tomorrow at 5:45am I will begin my septoplasty.. And I over-googled people’s experiences on it and NATURALLY read all the poor ones, where every problem went wrong that could AND they didn’t get any relief in their airway passages, so now I’m all worried and negative. LOL.

So sometimes I get this suspicion that my new(ish) boss can’t handle that people like working with me. I think it might be a case where he’s always been the likable one and from day one we’ve butted heads — not on purpose — because I can see right through his cheesey jokey armor and am aware he hardly lives up to his resumé. But we’re getting better. It just feels like, and other people have mentioned to me, that he seems to dislike how liked I am since day one.

I think this is because when he came on board, I’d already gotten my approval to work from Texas which is really rare. Typically my boss would have had to approve this, but as I didn’t have a direct report at the time, I went to the higher ups. So rather than being asked if he minded if an employee worked from afar, he was informed I would be. I can’t help this - I asked long before he had even been interviewed for the job - but I think he still resents what he views as preferential treatment.. and in a way, it is, but I busted my hump to earn it.

Anyways, he has a team of 4 people including myself. My job, however, is completely different from the rest of team which splits workloads. I do finance-y stuff and they do data entry. So we work with entirely different departments and have different exposure. My work is far more visible to higher authorities - this is a pro and a con. The pro is, if I’m being awesome, the fancy pants folks notice. The con is, if I screw up, it’s a BIG deal. There is no “blending into the background” when you’re the only one responsible for your area.

Today a man who is very muchso important took the time to email my boss’s boss (so my director) and give a lenghty and appreciated schpeel about how hard I work and valuable I am. Not to be a snob, but emails like this aren’t new but I love it everytime someone does one. LOL. Anyways, my director passed it along to myself and my boss and her boss and thanked me for my work, saying that “exception work is always business as usual for you.”

*insert ego boost*

In reply, HER boss (so the big honcho as far as our area goes) emailed back to everyone agreeing I rock and thanking me as well.

In a very childish gonna-make-a-joke-but-its-really-a-remark, and rather than typically saying thanks as well since I’m representing his team and making him look fantastic.. here ya are:

Boss: Wow. You got an “atta girl” from [insert fancy pants guys name here] this morning. Thanks for working so hard.
Me: You’re welcome! *humble* I was really surprised and grateful!
Boss: Yeah.. and you got an “atta girl” from [his boss, his boss’s boss] as well. Looks like everyone’s thanking you today.
Me: (not sure what to say.. its almost in a tone where I’m supposed to apologize?)
Boss: President Bush would thank you, too, but he’s on a plane right now and can’t use the phone.
Me: Thanks. And later I’ll be parting the red sea so buy your ticket early.

I swear…

So I was reading some celeb article bashing the new trend of stars getting nose jobs under the disguise of having deviated septums. Typically I could care less why anyone has plastic surgery, but I’m somewhat defensive of this topic seeing as how I’ll be correcting mine in a mere 9 days (squeals!).

Three of their examples were Ashley Tisdale, Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz. They were stating they lied about having deviated septums (though in the before pictures they posted, you can CLEARLY see their deviation areas, especially Cameron’s) and knew this because they had to see plastic surgeon’s to correct them instead of doctors.

First off, GP’s can’t preform these surgeries. In fact, most GP’s don’t do surgery.. that’s because they are not surgeons. According to my ENT (the next step, an Ear Nose Throat Specialist), she is able to do certain corrections but for the more hefty deviated septums, you have to see a plastic surgeon, preferabley a facial plastic surgeon who has previously been an ENT so they better understand the problem.

I don’t know what people think deviated septums look like. I think people envision huge, smashed, blatantly crooked and broken noses. But a deviated septum is NOT a broken nose. They estimate 80% of Americans have this but it isn’t a problem to all 80%. Some septums are deviated from birth, its just plain genetics. Some happen in childhood when you fall forward and cause trauma to your soft-and-forming cartilidge and it worsens as you age. Some are the result of an actual nasal trauma, be it a fracture or breakage (i.e. me).

And not all cases cause the external view of the nose to look odd at all. Mine is actually pretty normal looking. Its my face, so I’m VERY aware of where it shifts to the side, but after viewing the x-rays even my surgeon said he was pretty impressed at how jacked up it is internally but how well everything stayed externally. So what is on the outside hardly is telltale of what troubles lay inside.

So.. *must just be PMS-y* BACK OFF when folks say they are having this corrected and they don’t look like they just got slammed by a mac truck. LOL.

2 Benadryl + 1 Zyrtec = Death / 4 cups coffee = Still death.

I’m just sayin’…