Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Motorcycle Raffle tickets that benefit the Childhelp Village!!
Friday, October 9, 2009
canoe_kayakfredericksburgva : Canoe & Kayak Fredericksburg VA
Just trying to get the word out about my canoeing/kayaking group. Want to have a large enough group by next year that we can plan outings!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I'm still here
I plan to post a bunch of house pictures soon and Ive been spending way too much time over at facebook mostly because thats where alot of the friends are. But honestly, I like Multiply better :)
We are in the midst of counter offers with a bank on a house on Towles Mill rd. We have a bunch of family coming to visit next week and RayRay is very excited that he's going to see his cousins! I'm hoping to get to the beach (lake anna) alot more this summer so anyone wanting to go on a weekend, join us! I'm dreading packing up this house and if we get Towles Mill, I'm going to be painting my a$$ off so a little fun now would probably be a good idea!
Meanwhile...off to bed with me!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Millwood
This is a CRAPPY picture but hubby has kidnapped all the damn pics of the houses and until I get some sleep, I dont feel like dealing with it SO I promise a better pic later. Meanwhile the stats:Built in 1985 this contemporary home that looks like someone dropped it here from the rockies has 2674SF with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathroom, 4.93 acres on a corner culdesac. up on a hill (driveway could be better but still not as bad as the other old mill house we loved) garage, den (I see PLAYROOM) laundry area with sink and mud room/closet, kitchen to DIE for, sunken living room with fireplace, raised "game area" with wet bar (ok, honestly, I'll most likely put a small loveseat and chair with a coffee table there) HUGE back deck and fairly big front deck by the front door, skylights, loft opening to see down in to the living room, pool (if its in decent shape-bonus) master has a HUGE bathroom (I FIT IN THE TUB. Let me say this again, I am 6'1" and I.FIT.IN.THE.TUB.!!!!!!!!!!! oh happy day!) balcony off the Master BR and again for an older home/foreclosure, not in TOO bad a shape.
The downside:
It will need a new roof more than likely, the pool could be a 23,000 gallon money pit. (anyone know a bonded insured pool inspector?) since the roof is showing dampness, the sheet rock is showing it too in one side of the house. More expensive so therefore more downpayment and mortgage, The driveway will be 4x4 every time it snows and is washed away in places. Not too bad but one of us is going to have to drag that gravel back up. The fence around the pool/back yard will HAVE to be replaced or repaired. Its in seriously sad shape. Its standing on its own but there are places that are protesting that fact. There are 3 satellite dishes (uh-oh) is this because they just felt like changing companies or because theyve completely run out of visible skyline???? Obviously there is no cable hook up but this worries me. SO a call to Comcast might be in order (or at least a web search of the address). 2 porch rooves are showing alot of rot. They will have to be replaced. $$$$$$$$$$$$$
so, older home we LOVE or newer home we kind of like alot?? <theme from jeapordy plays> well, we made an offer on this one too. Really, we're thinking the 1st house wont even consider our offer but we hear on Saturday that its likely they are (uh-oh) so we're going to have to make a decision, but it seems like this is the house we want. Now we have to get them to accept our offer and hope that if it falls through, we can find something we love as much since the other old mill house will probably go to the other offer it has on it if we dont move forward with them. Did I mention I hate house hunting...? I'll keep you all updated on the developing saga (lol)
old mill
2.24 acres, 2400SF 3bedrooms 3.5 bathrooms, fireplace well, septic. Master room is downstairs which bothered us. square footage is cut up poorly (alot of closet, bathroom, hallway space) so not alot of livable SF. But it was built in 2004 and is in pretty good shape for a foreclosure. We really liked the neighbors and of course this neighborhood (since we keep ending up back here) Nice level property with privacy and very easy maintenance. So, what we didnt like: not enough space (we were already bickering over where the office would go) and no garage (OUCH). Honestly, though it may seem trivial, once youve had a garage, its hard to find a place for all of those garage items that just dont seem to fit anywhere else. But, we love the area and neighbors so despite a few misgivings and with the shortcomings in mind, we made an offer. A VERY low offer. Thinking "if they accept this or even close, we can build a garage". So, the kick in the teeth, THAT night they list the house I LOVE... I went over after work the next day and sure enough, I love it as much in person as I did in pictures. SAME neighborhood (sheesh, that must be the place for us) SO, next post :) ...........................................
Friday, February 20, 2009
House Hunt-Twin Oaks
And the search continues... 1st the statistics- 4850 square feet, 5 acres, 5 bedrooms 3.5 bathrooms in-ground pool, bar & one of the full bathrooms downstairs in the rec area nice property not far from daycare or work routes.. HUGE house. But look closely, I always thought this pic looked weird (this house has been on the market for almost a year) doesnt the roofline from the right side to the center seem to drop to the center of the house???? SO I thought it was a trick of the pic. We go up the front steps (warped, but no biggie) and as soon as we walk in the house I turn to Ray and ask if it feels like the floors are flowing down to the center of the house? He says, ya, isnt that weird. we looked all over (someone had the WORST idea of paint) Pink dining room, patchwork blue main walls, orange master and lavendar master bathroom, dark teal bedroom, another one was pastel pinkie/orange with dark burgundy trim (BLECH!) anyway, back stair railing was loose, cathedral ceiling sheetrock looked like it had some water damage and the pastel/burgundy room ceiling definitely had water damage that they tried to hide with popcorn paint. As I go up the top stairs I notice that the top step is shorter than all the others (weird) and I turn to look back down and see that the wall isnt straight and the floor there is off (buckled or something) so this house (like the poltergeist house) is sucking down into its own center! I get downstairs into the rec room and see that the carpet is completely gone and there is a water line all the way around (uh-oh) and the bathroom down there has mold/water marks at the same level. ABout this time, RayRay tells me he has to potty (ACK! Winterized house!!) So I scoop him up and run for the back door. I get it open and find at least 3 inches of slimey mud at the bottom of the stairs going up (eeeeeeeeeeewww) so I scoop him up again and run for the upstairs.
So we had a good laugh about peeing in the grass (my child thinks this was extremely silly)
Now, about that mud..grandma\realestate agent says "Oh, they had a problem with the drainage and thats why that happened (um-YEAH!) so now we know what caused the water damage. Fixable, probably but ALOT of work on top of all the painting and wallpaper removal (did I mention the dining area had a black and white striped border paper on top of that bright pink paint???) that I would have to do (I couldnt live in a house with bright pink walls and an orange bedroom not to mention lavendar bathroom) . SO that night I'm putting rayray to bed and it hits me. That picture of the sloping roof, the top stair that looks squished, the flowing floors, the excessively wet foundation.....and someone had been in the attic because you could see alot of dropped insulation under the attic access. Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with either the roof and supports or the foundation but it all leads back to the center of the house! Either way, this house scares the pants off of me. Ray loved it but grudgingly admits that there is definitely something wrong. He poo'd poo'd the paint issues and I reminded him that this was because he doesnt paint and it would all be my responsibility (lol) and he doesnt like ladders so who was going to fix the sheet rock in the cathedral ceiling????
So, another no...too bad because this was a HUGE house with alot of potential but also alot of potential to be a money pit.
I wonder whats wrong with it....... <spooky music>
Friday, January 23, 2009
We fly tomorrow
So we get on a plane tomorrow afternoon to fly to Florida to see my very (probably terminally) ill grandmother. Here's the plan:
Myself, baby Ray and hubby along with my mother, will get on a plane at 120pm to arrive at Orlando airport where we will meet my father (the divorced from my mother one) as he flies in earlier in the day from NY. We will pile this little dysfunctional bunch into a minivan and drive 1.5 hours to crescent city (a blip on the map) to spend the week at a motel near my grandfather to visit my dying grandmother. Dad (as of today) had not told my grandfather that he was coming-no really, he hasnt!
A quick bio on each:
Lets start with the most dysfuntional one-Dad: lets just say that if I have issues, they are from him. Since the new girlfriend drinks enough for 3 people, he has essentially lost his battle with that demon. Thankfully, he stays sober during the day or I wouldnt even allow him to travel with us. He's a mean drunk and not a good early morning person but we've made as much peace with this issue as is going to happen. But he can be cynical and sarcastic and talks down without thinking to almost everyone. He and my grandfather are on not great terms right now due to the events of the last several years..not that my grandfather would be a wonderful person if only my father wasnt involved.
Speaking of, lets get to Paw Paw- The mid part of the abuse cycle. As a child, my father was slapped around, literally as was my aunt. My grandfather's temper was only surpassed by his intolerance of many many things & people. My grandmother is the smallest, sweetest woman and basically was unable to stand up to or between the raging anger that was my grandfather. Unfortunately, this anger got passed on to my father. Like I said, we've made our peace.
Mom- remember, they're divorced. Mom is nervous to begin with. Add my father (who can make normal people timid with a few sentences) makes her fall apart or start having ulcers. He treats her badly just because he can & he talks down to her and she feels like crap about it. She's already nervous about the trip, now she's getting stomach sick thinking about my father and grandfather killing eachother while we're there.
Hubby & Ray will be just traveling in this swirl. I hope to insulate the little guy from all of it.
I am the middle gal. The one everyone will look at and say (already saying) what the hell...what will we do. What if...
I'll tell you what my plan is- there are 4.27 miles from my grandfather's house to the motel we are all staying at. they will get one warning shot to cease & desist over their bow. Then we will leave. 4.27 miles is a good long walk to think about your issues and though mom is wringing her hands and saying we cant do that, I have no such discomfort. I'm tired of the warring factions of Crane. And I'm NOT going to be part of the dysfunction. and I absolutely REFUSE to subject my innocent child to their poison.
So, hopefully, there will be no blood shed and I will be allowed to say goodbye to my grandmother in peace & love which she deserves more than anyone I know on this earth.
Pray we survive the flight, the week and the trip home. Ive had a few anxiety filled moments but ive learned over the years that my father's side of the family sees or perceives weakness and they're on you like a pack of wolves.
And people wonder why I'm an anal control oriented person....
Monday, January 19, 2009
gummie long version
Monday, January 12, 2009
CAKES by Christy
Custom made cakes for the special people in your life and for those sweet moments you want to remember.
Monday, January 5, 2009
OK, something ive been wanting to do-Photography scavenger hunt!
Here's the deal.. feel free to join in no matter who you are! Each week on Monday I'll post a new picture of something... You need to find the same thing (opbviously not the EXACT same thing) and post the picture in your blog. So, I take a picture of a yellow Volkswagon Bug, you need to find a yellow bug. The harder it was for me to find, I'll rate it. 1 being very easy, 10 being very difficult. Comment on my blog where you found it and the difficulty rating. If I get enough response, I'll track names and success and announce a "Winner" each month!
I'll pull a
Otherwise, this becomes just a fun blog for me to take more pictures..and I'm ok with that too :)
Good Luck!