Adventures in Home Ownership

Let me just start out by saying that I actually love my house and I think it is the bomb and I know I am blessed.


However, just because you own a house, does not mean you have any money whatsoever. And owning something so big and grown up with so many things that could (and will) go wrong is a huge responsibility. This is new to me and will be an adjustment. We are about to cut our income in half and we are pretty much broke. To be honest, I am SO scared. Throw a newborn in the mix and you have yourself a recipe for a total panic attack. So, hate me all you want for complaining about it, but please keep in mind that I am under serious stress, plus, you know, hormones and stuff, and I need to talk about it.

Here is what has happened so far in our new life as home-owners:

The A/C or insulation or SOMETHING is not working right. It is hot. I live in Southern Utah. And being that it is only May, I am real real scared of it being August in that house. As of now, it is sometimes 80 degrees in the house. Just thinking about going home from work right now makes me feel a little bit like crying. Last night I couldn't take it anymore and had a total meltdown. I don't do well in heat, I guess. :)

Next, we have bugs. Mostly just big roaches and tiny sugar ants. We thought we had the ant problem under control by using these ant baits, which work pretty well. But then. We left the dog food out. Last night I looked down at the dog food dish and there were about 500 ants all over it. We put 2 of those baits down and they were all over them in no time, and usually it takes them a couple of days to get into the poison. These little jerks are everywhere. I see them in every room. A couple of weeks ago, I put my bassinet in my bedroom. I walked into the room a few minutes later and there were ants crawling on it. That is disturbing.

Half the sprinklers don't come on and we don't know why. The water softener leaks like crazy and things in the garage are rusting from it. And things generally just need to be replaced. I mean, the house was built in the 90's. Updating is definitely needed. Someone please tell me: why, at one point, was brass the coolest metal ever?

And something I have discovered about myself in the last weeks: I don't know how to function without a central vac. I have had one for forever. How do I take care of bugs now? How do I clean stuff of of tall ceilings, or random places like the top of a couch? How do non-central vac owners do it??

Lastly, I think someone reported our yard for not being mowed during the process of getting the house ready. It has been very well maintained for years. Then for about a month, when we were preparing the inside of the house, the lawn didn't get mowed quite as regularly. So the city code enforcers came by the house, took pictures of our lawn, and then sent them to us in a "courtesy notice" saying that they would be coming by to inspect the yard to make sure the problem is taken care of. The notice was for "weeds/fire hazardous materials." In reality, we just needed to mow the lawn but hadn't had a chance yet. Seriously. Green, admittedly shaggy grass. No weeds. Ok fine, ONE weed. A green one.

To quote Drunk Uncle:

wwww.isthisreallyAmerica.questionmark.noitisn't.IMMIGRANTS

You know, without the immigrants part.

If someone did report us, that upsets me. I guess it is something that I wouldn't do to a neighbor unless their yard was being treated like a landfill AND the people were also rude. But to report us for some long grass (which we had already taken care of days before we received the notice) during a transition phase? Not to mention I have been out there mowing it in the heat with my giant pregnant belly and it's not like anyone offered to help, ya know? I would like to think that people in this community have the decency to think about what is going on in their neighbors lives before they call up the city and report them. But of course they don't. There is actually a yard kitty-corner from us that is mostly weeds. Our yard is nothing compared to that yard. I don't get how my shaggy grass could get reported while being two doors down from that yard. How does the city even see my yard and think, oh, yeah, this is a problem. Where is the camera?

Ahhh. Anyway. I am trying to not assume that it was a neighbor that reported us, but it most likely was. That makes me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable on my own property. It was probably an old grumpy codger and someone that I don't need to waste energy worrying about. Because I know that most of the people who live around me are really good people, and would probably just come over and mow it themselves if it really bothered them.

In conclusion, while there are things in this house that I can't stand, like tiny rooms and microscopic bathrooms and closets, I still do love so much about it. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I really, really understand that it is a huge deal to have a house and that maybe you want to punch my face right now. Like I said, I am just scared out of my mind as to how we are going to afford it on no money. Did I mention that I am worried about money? And we are about to have a baby. And I have no money. I can't stress enough how much money we are about to NOT have. What do I do?

But hey. When it is not 80 degrees in my living room, here are some things that I love about my house:

• My kitchen window. I love having a window in front of my kitchen sink. It overlooks the back yard. This morning the sunlight coming through was so pretty.
• My walls. Cody painted them like a pro and they look great. I have had white walls all my life and was scared to put color on them, but now I can't imagine having white walls (although I do still totally appreciate some really clean white walls with white linens. That is usually my style).
• My carpet. New carpet is awesome.
• My beautiful kitchen. Cody painted the ugly oak cabinets white, the walls light blue, and the pocket doors to the laundry room and pantry a really cute "orange spice" color. I love those doors!
•  I have an actual pantry now instead of a glorified cupboard.
• I have an awesome magnolia tree and it is in bloom right now.
• There is a robin's nest in the backyard with little beaks sticking out of it. The mama robin is always hopping around the yard getting worms, and feeding them constantly. And in another tree there is a mama dove sitting on her nest that has little tiny squeeky bird sounds coming out of it! It's precious.
• Ceiling fan in the bedroom. It's a big deal.
• A shower that I can actually move in! And the shower head is ABOVE my head, another big deal for tall people.
• It's ours. It is OUR HOUSE. A real live house. And I am about to start a family in it. That is pretty amazing.
•  Cody is there, and as long as that man is there, Everything is OK.

Also, this: