for everything there is a season

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almost four years ago i graduated from jbu.  i came out of the university a changed person, probably not in the way the school intended, but changed none-the-less.

i left jbu with my eyes opened.  i graduated with a better sense of {my} beliefs and {my} ideologies.  i also left jbu realizing there is so much more to this world than what i saw and experienced as a child from a middle-class, caucasian household.  there is hunger, pain, homelessness, poverty, innocence, destruction.  there is not enough forgiveness, not enough grace, not enough humility, not enough generosity, not enough intentionality, not enough passion.

{for everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.  eccles 3:1}

almost three years ago i bought this house.  i love this house.  more than loving this house, i have happily watched the value of this house increase tremendously, something i never understood prior to being a homeowner.  for once, i invested in something smart…in a smart neighborhood and all that good stuff.

these two events were huge in my life.  since then, i have felt like i’m on an educational {emotional} rollar coaster.  i feel like the universe is throwing trial after trial at me.

{a time to be born and a time to die. a time to plant and a time to harvest.  eccles 3:2}

in the last three years people returned from my past and new people have arrived.  many people, many, many people left my life.  i finally grieved for my brother and what his death meant and what his death didn’t mean.  the last three years have been hard. they have been filled with laughter and loss, support and betrayal, successes and failures.

i have opened my home, opened my heart, opened my mind.  i have put myself out there.  i have put my ideologies and my personality out there.  i have loved deeply.  not just a significant other, but my friends, my family, my housemates, my neighbors.  i love with all of my heart and soul and mind.

{a time to kill and a time to heal.  a time to tear down and a time to build up.  eccles 3:3}

i have always, always said my childhood, my experiences, my family has made me who i am.  it made me stronger.  it made me passionate.  it made me determined.  inspite of anything and everything, i have always been optimistic.  i AM optimistic.

i have faith in humanity.  i believe in the good of people.  i believe that despite everything, most people have the best of intentions.

{a time to cry and a time to laugh.  a time to grieve and a time to dance.  eccles 3:4}

but these last three years have shaken my beliefs.  it has shaken my core.  it has made me question my optimism.  made me question my passion.  made me doubt my faith and belief in humanity and its good.  made me question what the heck is wrong with this world.

this is a broken world.  this world is flawed.  i don’t understand humanity.

i am not religious, but i am spiritual.  from my bible days, my favorite bible verse was always ecclesiastes 3:1-3:8.  as i feel disappointed about life, this verse keeps ringing through my head.

{a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.  a time to embrace and a time to turn away.  eccles 3:5}

as i try to reshape my mentality and tear down the block that my heart and mind have started to build…i have to remind myself that my problems are so small.  so minor and insignificant.  so what if i have lost friends.  so what if i trusted and allowed people into my heart and home.  so what if my trust and faith and love and passion have been abused and misused. so what if people were selfish.  so what?!  my problems are miniscule.

{a time to search and a time to quit searching.  a time to keep and a time to throw away.  eccles 3:6}

ya’ll, there are people in this world who are starving.  there are parents who can not afford to feed their children tonight.  there are families who are homeless.  they live under bridges, in tents, in cars, in boxes and in allyways and on street corners.  they don’t have a home to open up to someone else.  they don’t have to worry about friends that aren’t living up to their expectations of what a friend should be.  they are just trying to survive.  there are people who are thirsty.  not, i just drink a whole bottle of soda and now i am thirsty, thirsty.  they are really thirsty.  they don’t have clean water to drink.  to bathe in.  to cook with.  they are thirsty.

ya’ll.  there are children, and mothers, and fathers, and husbands, and wives, and parents that are abused.  they are mentally abused.  they are physically abused.  they don’t feel safe in their homes.  their homes.  think about it, when was the last time you didn’t feel safe in your home.

ya’ll, there are children that are orphans.  there are babies that will never be held.  they will never be comforted.  they will never know compassion and unconditional love of their parents.  there are toddlers that have lost their mothers.  there are toddlers that aren’t eating.  there are toddlers that aren’t talking.  there are toddlers that aren’t thriving.  look at your toddler, can you imagine who they would be without love, without compassion, without patience, without teaching.  no, you probably can’t.

there are children without someone to celebrate with them, to encourage them, to believe in them.  there are teenagers without someone to accept them when hormones have them going crazy.  teenagers that have been in foster care, group homes or orphanages for all of their life.  teenagers that have given up the hope they will find someone who wants them.  there are teenagers about to age out of a broken, overcrowded, under-funded, ignored system.  teenagers that will never have a place to call home.  {if} they make it to college, they won’t have a mom to call when college gets hard, they won’t have a dad to get advice from, they won’t have a home or a family to spend breaks with.  they will age out of a system that doesn’t allow for grace, doesn’t allow for understanding, doesn’t allow for growth or mistakes.

{a time to tear and a time to mend.  a time to be quiet and a time to speak.  eccles 3:7}

there are soldiers fighting for our freedom.  there are soldiers fighting for the freedom of others.  there are soldiers fighting and sacrificing…and dying.  the are soldiers who survive and come home to a country, a world, they no longer understand, know, or fit into.  there are soldiers that come home broken.  physically.  mentally.  emotionally.  broken and scarred.  there are soldiers who have given up everything so that we don’t have to give up anything.  those soliders have family.  mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, children.  those families sacrifice their time, their time with their soldier.

there is a world – our world.  a huge, beautiful, incredible, amazing world.  this world, it relies on us.  it relies on us to care for it.  to respect it.  to nurture it.  to allow it to grow.  to encourage it to thrive.  there is a world that we are selfishly destroying.  there is a world that is changing because we use and use and use and use.  we don’t give back.  we just take.

{a time to love and a time to hate.  a time for ware and a time for peace.  eccles 3:8}

my problems are so small.  my problems are so insignificant.  my problems don’t really matter.  but, somedays, sometimes, my problems feel huge and make a big impact on my heart.  on my mind.  on my emotions.  tonight, my heart hurts.  for all that i am sad for me, and for all i am sad for this world.

protein shakes

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i am one of those people that have always laughed at protein shakes and breakfast smoothies…

sure, use the words “shake” and “smoothie” in a title and it sounds delicious… but usually i have found these drinks to be anything but.

growing up we all dreaded the days Papa would have a protein drink as a late lunch; it meant “mama dinners.” mama dinners was usually code for sandwiches, canned soup, meat rolls, frozen dinner, pot pies, hot pockets or other such simple-to-make, mediocre flavor food. mama dinners were ok, but nothing to write home about (see what i did there? we were already home…haha…..)

anyhow, recently i have found a protein shake that just sings to me. you might be curious how a liquid can sing, but trust me…it can.

super duper chocolatey flavor that ends my craving for chocolate (hi, my name is Jessica and i am a chocoholic). it’s vegan, gluten free, fits with a paleo lifestyle, low sugars, reasonable calories, decent carbs. and did i mention delicious? i actually look forward to drinking my smoothie every day.

so why this post? well, it’s easy. i want to get healthy. if I post here my health-plan, maybe i will stay more accountable. also, maybe another lifelong chocoholic out there is also looking for ways to get healthy. And maybe, just maybe, i can help us both in the meantime!

tomorrow i will post the specifics, but for now, what are you doing to stay/get/be healthy?

“why are you raising worms?”

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recently, Papa asked me, “Why in the world are you raising worms???”

believe it or not, its not the first time i’ve been asked such a question!  haha

before i answer, let me ask you…What do YOU do with waste from your home?  Office?  I’m talking every little piece of anything that goes into your trash or recycle can.  How much do you put in your trash can that COULD be recycled?  How much paper, food waste, cardboard, miscellaneous paper products, etc.?

so, here’s my answer:

y’know when you chop up celery and you take apart the rib, then cut off the ends?  then you take those ends and throw it away?  or, when you an onion, you toss the onion skins and the ends?

well, that my readers, that is the #1 reason i have worms.  i have always felt guilty about throwing those pieces of veggies away.  you loose so much of a veggie by just tossing it in the trash.  fruit too – watermelon rinds, lemon peels, strawberry tops.  all of it. just in the trash, to then go to the landfill and sit and rot with millions of other produce parts that are tossed out.  surely there is a better way to get rid of those things, right?

reason #2:  paper towels napkins, dryer lint, paper, cardboard, toilet paper rolls, coffee grounds, paper plates, cardboard boxes that had food particles touching it so it can’t be recycled.  all of that stuff, my worms will happily eat.

reason #3:  though i have yet to garden, and have never been super successful at it…now that i am a homeowner, i hope to garden.  i want a beautiful, lush yard that doesn’t look like someone tossed all their extra weeds in it.  i want beautiful, colorful flowers that everyone is envious of…and then, when i’ve got that down, i want a herb garden and a veggie garden and yes, maybe fruit too!  yes, my yard is small, but a determined soul can do great things!

reason #4:  (kinda finishing #3) i’ve heard and read and seen how compost can do wonders to a yard, garden, veggies, flowers, etc.  well, if compost is good, vermicompost (compost made by worms) is even better.  the process of vermicomposting adds so many more nutrients than just a hot compost process.  it’s also quicker.  and neater.  and has less rodent invasion (a story i heard from my dad).  plus, with vermicompost you can make worm tea or worm wine.  and that, my friends, that is like liquid gold.

more will follow this blog.  i’m thinking photos of my worm factory 360, photos of worms, even photos of worm cocoons.  heck, add to that update blogs and so much more!  haha.  get excited, i am.  i am so excited…and obsessed.  yes, several people probably think i’m obsessed.

thanks for reading!

worms and compost

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i posted this as a facebook status, then realized its probably best as a blog post.  however, i will give a complete post on my worms soon!

“Last night, I spent two hours separating my worms from compost. I only got through 1/2 of the first bin. Whew! That took a while. What’s worse is after doing ALL that separating…I put all of it back together!

Two reasons:
1) I was looking through my super fine, super premium compost my worms made :) :){eek! excited!} only to find that I had BABY, {adorable} red wigglers in the fine compost!!! I didn’t want to toss those babies in my yard where they would likely die!

2) I was looking through my chunky, good quality compost that hadn’t sifted through the screen yet and realized that a) there were some worms I somehow missed in it and b) I REALLY liked the super fine compost and wanted to screen all of it, which meant more work and more time AND figuring out another way to get rid of the pests in the bins.

okay, okay, three reasons

3) I’m hoping the next method I am going to try will go quicker and easier and reduce the amount of worms that are in my finished compost!

Yes, I was reminded that chances are SOME worms will end up in my finished compost, but I want to reduce that as much as possible!

SO very excited my worms are doing so well! They seem to be happy, healthy and they are procreating! Besides, they are making awesome compost that I can’t wait to use!!”

affirmations & self healing

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Affirmation from Louise HayPhoto by "JCT(Loves)Streisand"

Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

about a year ago, i first heard of self-healing through affirmations and the name Louise Hay.  i forgot about it for awhile until november?  something like that.

basically, the idea that she has shaped is that every thought pattern you have, good…bad…or otherwise affects the physical.  for instance, do you bite your nails?  does your knee always bother you?  do you have a stiff neck?  baldness?  fatique?  pink eye?  bunyons?  canker sores?  i could go on and on…in fact, her book DOES go on and on.  her research, books and life work seems to shape around the fact that YOUR thoughts can create physical patters and physical ailments … or diminish them.  completely.

“The point of power is right here and right now in our own minds.  It does not matter how long we have had negative patterns, an illness, a rotten relationship, a lack of finances, or self-hatred; we can begin to make a change today.  The thoughts we have held and the words we have repeatedly used have created our life and experiences up to this point….What we are choosing to think and say today, this moment, will create tomorrow and the next day and the next week and the next month and the next year….This is where we being to make changes.  What a liberating idea.  We can begin to let the old nonsense go.  Right now.  The smallest beginning will make a difference.”

her story starts with cancer.  she was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer, told she had three months to live and given a few options.  through a series of detoxifying her body and mind, clearing and reshaping her thoughts and working to release resentment and anger she held – her cancer was gone from her body and stays gone to this day.  wow.  can you imagine, the power of thought ridding your body of cancer?

Affirmation from Louise HayPhoto by "JCT(Loves)Streisand"

Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

alright, i know this sounds hokey.  and i am certainly not diminishing anyone who has had cancer, fought cancer, survived or died from cancer.  but just think about the possibilities.

she challenges her reader:

“Take a little time to listen to the words you say.  If you hear yourself saying something three times, write it down.  It has become a pattern for you.  At the end of a week, look at the list you have made, and you will see how your words fit your experiences.  Be willing to change your words and thoughts and watch your life change.  The way to control your life is to control your choice of words and thoughts.  No one thinks in your mind but you.”

“I have learned that for every condition in our lives, there is a NEED FOR IT.  Otherwise, we would not have it.  The symptom is only an outer effect.  We must go within to dissolve the mental cause…”  before you are able to put the affirmations to work, you must “work on the WILLINGNESS TO RELEASE THE NEED for the cigarettes or the headache or the excess weight or whatever.  When the need is gone, the outer effect must die.  No plant can live if the root is cut away.”

okay, so stay with me a little longer…some of my own “conditions”

canker sores – festering words held back by the lips.  blame

back problems – lower back – fear of money.  lack of financial support; middle back – guilt; upper back – lack of emotional support.  feeling unloved.  holding back love.

fatigue – resistance, boredom.  lack of love for what one does

headaches – invalidating the self.  self-criticism.  fear

nail biting – frustration.  eating away at the self.  spite of a parent.

neck (cervical spine) – represents flexibility.  the ability to see what’s back there.

neck problems (refusing to see other sides of a question.  stubbornness, inflexibility.

nervousness – fear, anxiety, struggle, rushing.  not trusting the process of life.

overweight – fear, need for protection.  running away from feelings.  insecurity, self-rejection.  seeking fulfillment.

pain – guilt.  guilt always seeks punishment.

pimples – small outbursts of anger {think about teenagers and their acne struggles – aren’t they ALWAYS angry!?}

stiff neck – unbending bullheadedness.

if i am honest with myself, i can’t argue with very much of what is above.  i know that’s a pretty big list, but it is certainly not everything!  with each and everyone of those “conditions,” Louise Hay lists an affirmation that if you say and work into your daily routine, believe it and live it, that ailment will go away.  that seems pretty darn cool…and almost too good to be true…

Affirmation from Louise HayPhoto by "JCT(Loves)Streisand"

Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

but, i have a plan.  i want to tackle the whole list {and more} at once…grab every single one of those affirmations and say them until i am blue in the face, breath and say them again.  but the reasonable side of me is going to pick 2-3 and work on them until they seem to be no more.  then, i’ll continue down the list.  for now, we shall see.

three more things…

first – my Louise Hay calendar has a short and long affirmation for january.  i’ll share it with you below.

second – i challenge you to do the activity above and/or pick out 3-4 conditions you have.  i’m happy to take your emails {jessica@coldairac.com}, i’ll look up the condition and send you back the affirmation.  or you can check it out yourself in her book {info below}.

third – all the quotations and factual information in this blog post came from Heal Your Body A-Z, The Mental Causes for Physical Illness and the Way to Overcome Them written by Louise L. Hay.

january:

quick affirmation: I trust that Life will provide me with everything I need and want.

longer affirmation:

I trust myself, and I trust Life.

I know that I was born a beautiful and trusting soul.

If things get difficult, I turn within and anchor my thoughts in truth and love.  I ask for guidance from the Universe, and I make my way safely through stormy seas and calm, blissful weather.

My job is to stay in the present moment and to choose clear, simple, positive thoughts and words.

I trust the process of life in all its mysterious and wondrous ways.

yes, i realize january is just about over…but, hey – say the short affirmation three or four times today through the 31st and say the longer affirmation once a day.  finally, i don’t think it will STOP working at 11:59pm on january 31st, so its probably pretty safe to keep using these affirmations into february if you so desire!  😉

here’s to changing our thought patters for a happier, healthier, better self with less “conditions!”

Affirmation from Louise HayPhoto by "JCT(Loves)Streisand"

Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

happy new years…26 days late

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Graduation Day 2011

quite obviously i haven’t blogged in awhile.  when i created this blog, i was hoping it would turn into a great documentary to our first experience as homeowners.  {i got that from a classmate} but life got in the way, i was busy, we were busy, i just didn’t have time to write.

well, i guess, that is not really the truth.  we always find time for what is important, right?  i have been uninspired.  or maybe, i’ve had too much inspiration, not enough direction.  either way…

i see blogs that my classmates write, i read them, i digest them, i am awed by them.  i read popular blogs, and business blogs.  i read blogs about cooking and blogs about photography.  how do they find the ideas, the words, how do they come up with such interesting things to say about business, art, their journey, faith, work, friends, etc. etc. etc.  is my life not interesting?  am i dumb?

whenever i sat down to write, i always felt like what i had to say was unimportant.  but that brought forth the question, who am i writing for?  what am i writing about?  do i hope my blog will be known as funny?  creative? sad?  inspirational?  informative?  am i writing for me?  for a general internet audience?  for friends, family?  no one?

 

ImageMy house covered in snow.

so, i have remained uninspired.  i haven’t found a way to answer these questions.  and life gets in the way.  first i’m going to figure that out next week, then, the week after…soon its been a month…two…six…and i think at this point … 9 months or so?  geez.  where does the time go!

i can’t believe i have owned a house for almost 9 months!  holy wow!

life has changed so much over the last two years.  i graduated from college!  i moved back to texas!  i finally released my brother!  i have started to forgive myself!  i have lost more than 50lbs since leaving siloam!  i released the stress, the anger, the fear, the depression that came from going to school at a university where i didn’t really “fit in.”  i am a homeowner! i work for papa at coldair, we are a corporation…we are no longer a small, sole proprietorship company!  i sell an amazing eco-friendly cleaning product line ~ rockin’ green!  i joined pink zebra home fragrance as a consultant!  i became single!  i started working two jobs – i now am {proudly-ish} a cashier at my local target {yay for discounts!} i have roommates for only the second time in my life!  i fell in awe of a 17 year old with an incredible story to tell.  i upgraded from a small sedan to finallyan suv {maybe not the most fiscally smart decision, but i am SO happy with it!!}!

 

imageMy New Rav4!!

 

change.  that was my mantra the last few years.  everything was changing.  well, heck, over the last 4 years if you go back to losing ben and moving away from my “home”. i guess that is the mantra of humanity.  change.  maybe mantra is the wrong word…but i like it.

this year, my mantra is “me.”  selfish? probably.  but, i am told constantly that i need to take time to work on me.  to be with me.  to make me better and happier and well, just make me whoever i am meant to be.

focusing on me is hard for me.  so far, i haven’t done a good job of it.  but every day, i remind myself that this is MY year.  this is my year to get my finances in order.  this ismy year to stand up for myself for whatever it may be.  it is my year to spoil myself.  it is my year to work my tail off so hopefully next year i can relax.  it is my year to discover what i like and what i dislike.  it is my year to forget people that don’t serve me good purpose and spend more time with those that do.

i hope i also make it my year to write. i miss writing.  i miss blogging.  i used to write and blog all the time.  i’m not sure what happened.  somewhere along the way, i just stopped.

so here’s to me.  here’s to a new year.  here’s to whoever might read this blog.  if you don’t like it, no hard feelings.  move on.  i don’t mind.  once i write again, maybe i’ll try to be like my classmates and all those other great blogs out there.  but for now, i just want to write for me.

happy new year to ya’ll.  may it be the best one yet!  and now, to brag on my beautiful/handsome/adorable siblings!

Beautiful Catherine

Image

Image

the last month of our lives

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i will share a secret with you, buying a house is stressful.  okay, i get it, it may not be a secret if you’ve ever purchased a home before…but man has it been stressful here!

{this is a long post…it really is about the last month-ish of our lives}

you have probably read my past posts and know that the last stage of us buying a house was waiting for approval from the USDA.  the loan i wanted was a 100% guaranteed loan that is supported by the USDA in rural areas.  although, i know the logic of not buying a house if you don’t have the money to put down…i also know the logic of paying more money for renting than you would for a house is just plain silly.

well, when we started this process, we thought it would take 15 days for the USDA to approve my loan; at least that was what the average time period was back in early march.  however, i didn’t occur to me that it was 15 BUSINESS days.  that is a whole ‘nother ballgame folks.

on april 4th we submitted my application to the USDA.  i was supposed to close on april 19 and be out of the apartment by april 28.  i was pretty nervous since this was a pretty tight turn around.

then, the average 15 days turned into an average of 20 days.  we wouldn’t even hear back from the USDA until the beginning of may – well past my planned closing AND past my move out date.

luckily, we were able to change the move out date, the seller didn’t decide to put the house back on the market and we waited.  and waited.  and waited.  man, april and the first few days of may were SO stressful.  i have not known continuous, stomach aching stress like that in a very long time.

as it was, the stress was worth it.  we found out first thing in the morning may 3rd that i was approved for the loan.  my mortgage officer and lending company, Justine Belle-Isle from PrimeLending Ventures, LLC was incredible.  they took what is typically a multi-day process and turned my paperwork around and had it to the Marilyn Hoglen at Republic Title in less than 6 hours.  what typically takes the title company a day to get prepared they had ready in less than 4 hours and had my closing set for 10am the next morning!  thank you  goodness!!

that was may 4th.

from there, our long, stressful wait turned into a marathon!  the movers were booked for several days so they agreed to move us on a sunday.  thank goodness for PM of Texas!  i got the uhaul rented, we rushed to finish packing the apartment, i took things up the the new house on saturday and then it was time for moving sunday.

stressful things happen in threes it seems…chris left for storage before the movers arrived so he could get everything out and ready to be loaded.  he called from the gate – our code wasn’t working and the office wasn’t open yet.

three guys showed up to move us, they were moving everything quickly…….and then the apartment started flooding.  when the movers had tried to unhook the washer from the water line, it broke and water started gushing through the walls.  several minutes later, the water was shut off, but the damage was done.  water was flooding outside, the carpets were getting wetter by the minute, water was leaking into my neighbors apartment and there was at least an inch of water on the laundry room floor.  oh geez.  i found dirty towels i had gotten ready to move, put them on the floor and hoped like mad we would still get our deposit back.

then, it was off to storage.  the office had opened, chris had gotten things out of storage so they could easily {and quickly} be loaded – we were paying by the hour, y’know?  we showed up, and i’m in the cab of the 26′ uhaul trying not to cry.  i look over and in the side mirror see chris walking up to my car with a pair of jumper cables.  it seems, my car battery died.  he had to be at work in an hour…we had to finish moving – again, we were paying by the hour…and there was my car, the only reliable transportation in our household and it was dead.

we left him there…after about 20 minutes of charging connected to another car, my car finally started.  whew.

the movers finished moving, i sat down to a unwinding lunch with my family & chris and then we returned the uhaul.

instead of unpacking at my new house, i spent the afternoon vacuuming up water at the apartment.  my amazing mom took allergy meds and came to the apartment with me {she is VERY allergic to my two kitties} to help pack things up, sop up water and load up the excursion.  we left the apartment to go recruit the kiddos and papa to help unload at the new place.

the evening was spent unloading, spreading fertilizer & bug stuff in the yard, getting to know my new neighbor, putting the bed together and working around the house.  nothing of significance really was done.

that was may 6th.

that following week {last week} was spent moving things out of the apartment – neither of us realized HOW MUCH CRAP was left.  we have too much crap.  as we go through boxes, my number 1 goal is to get rid of 75% of our stuff.  we don’t need it, we don’t use it…its spend at LEAST the last year in a box, quite possibly the last 3 or 4 or 5 years in boxes.  anyhow…we emptied and cleaned the apartment and said goodbye to apartment life forever!

lacey and the cats took well to the new house.  lacey was thrilled to have a backyard, and fell in love with our large living room – larger than we’ve ever had!  the cats were pretty intimidated the first several days and spent their time moving around the outside of all the rooms … and looking up at the 12′ high ceilings.  lexi disappeared the first day – she was hanging out on the window seat and left.  she finally turned up five or six days later.  she likes to do silly stuff like that.

and that brings us to saturday {may 12}.  i’ll leave this last week to another post.

conclusion:  we have our house!  i am SO excited.  i still can’t believe it…i can’t believe i’m a homeowner!  i can’t believe that we are out of an apartment and that we have so much SPACE.  i am so used to living in small spaces, i had convinced myself the house wasn’t all that big.  but once we got our stuff in there, i was pretty well amazed at its enormity…at least for us!

i find myself being extra gentle with everything, concerned about breaking or damaging the slightest thing.  that has been kind of comical.

i know i will feel better when i can find all my clothes, all my bathroom stuff and unpack the box that contains our cups.  i think i have spent less than 20 waking hours at my house since i purchased it.  its just been that kinda couple of weeks.

i can’t wait to spend an entire two days there at once, lol.  its the little things.

until next time, thanks for reading folks!  feel free to leave comments, questions or the whatnot below.

 

a season for learning

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throughout my life i have been told, education doesn’t stop when you finish school.  it doesn’t stop after high school, after college or after you finish training for your new job.  education is continual and it can come from the most unique places.

i love to learn.  i don’t necessarilylove classes, homework, tests and projects, but i love the process of learning.  i love coming out the other end of something and realizing how much i have grown whether it is my skill set, mental capacity, familiarity and usability of something or who knows what else.

some people look at my job and wonder why i’m still working for papa.  they think i’m at a dead-end job that doesn’t nearly allow me to recognize my potential or utilize all that i have learned throughout my years and years and (feels like) years of education.

but, to those people, i say, you are SO wrong.  one of my conditions to myself and papa in coming back to work for coldair was that i had the ability to learn, grow and further the company.  there wasn’t anything specifically defined in that condition, other than social media, but it has turned into more than i imagined.

i have learned so much about social networking channels, social media and marketing on those channels, i have learned much more about the business, i have taken on the responsibility of our public image and getting our customers to keep loving us and telling their friends about us.

i have learned SO much about PDFs, i mean, it may be silly…but i have!  i’ve learned how to make notes on a pdf document, how to highlight, how to add text on a form and so so much more.  i’ve learned that this printer actually prints doubled sided!!!  {silly, maybe but means SO much to me who gets sad over my paper use}

since returning, i have gone through the ENTIRE process of taking this business from a sole proprietorship and turning it into a corporation.  we thought it was a simple process with nothing more than a few signatures and a hefty fee…but it wasn’t.  not even close.

i have continued doing sales tax for the company and employee tax but i’ve also taken on my parent’s personal income tax AND the business taxes.  now THAT i quite a big box to carry on your shoulders…have you ever done business taxes?

we built a new website and i’m learning how to start building websites myself so we don’t have to keep hiring it out.  i’m writing business blogs and {as evidenced here} trying to get back into writing blogs myself.

the growing, learning and new experiences i’ve had at work have been pretty incredible.  where else could i learn the ins and outs of owning and expanding a small business?  i am able to wear so many different hats and CHOOSE which hats i want to spend what amount of time on.  perhaps the best part is deciding when i want to add a hat to my collection and thus to the business.

for example, tomorrow my hat will be green.  as i make the most out my office being occupied by another, i will instead focus my energies on gardening.  see, i have this incredible opportunity to work, make money and do things for my parents at the same time.  they don’t have time to pull the weeds and replant flowers in their garden, but i’ve been afforded the time in a stream of circumstances.  so, i can work and garden and help them out at the same time.  the learning part?  i have never gardened.  i’m pretty comfortable with saying i have never really pulled weeds or planted flowers {unless you count elementary school when we planted seeds in those red dixie cups….or middle school when my science project focused on the difference of watering/light and i grew bean plants of some sort}.  but real gardening, never done it.  how will it help my future?  well, i am buying a house, in a subdivision with a pretty strict HOA when it comes to what your yard looks like.  it seems like a good time to learn to me.

i’ve also learned all about the home buying process, the lending process and exactly what it takes to buy a house {exhausting}.

and something i’ve been fortunate enough to do is teach others.  i’ve started classes at a local place to teach others how to grow their business using social media, websites, blogs and email marketing.  how cool is that?

in my personal life, i’ve also been learning so much on a spiritual side.  mom and i found an amazing local metaphysical facility that really is incredible.  i have learned so much about different healing modalities and really been able to reach within and find out some pretty incredible truths about myself {even if i’m still ignoring some/most/all of them}.  i’ve taken classes, participated in sessions and worked a lot on myself.  i feel like i’ve found something that really resonates with me.  pretty cool.

my next turn at learning is helping to organize a large adopt-a-pet and family pet event at lightworker’s sanctuary (the cool metaphysical place i’m teaching classes and spiritually growing at).  i’m sure there will be a blog or two as i go through this next learning process.

so its your turn.  how are you learning?  how are you growing?  think about it…what experiences are you going through every day that is teaching you and educating you for the future?

life has a way of laughing in your face

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when i was a young child, i wanted to be a vet.  i couldn’t imagine a better job than to work with animals all day.  but, then i starting thinking about the blood involved in surgery and gross things that might come in and decided that i couldn’t be a vet – apparently it wasn’t all about playing with cute, cuddly furrbabies all the time!  imagine that.

then i wanted to be a teacher, what better way to spend my day than educating others…followed by a lawyer – i loved to argue…and win.  a novelist, a journalist, a writer – i am passionate about writing…

all these things had something in common…or so i thought.  i wanted to make my own schedules, do my own work and not sit in a cubicle all day.  teachers had summers off and they got done early in the day.  veterinarians owned their own practice and were their own boss.  novelists and writers worked when they had something to write about and journalists – they chased whatever news stories most interested them.  {keep in mind, i was a young}

you see, my mom worked in Corporate America.  she worked until 9, 10 or so at night, she worked most weekends and she hated it.  this was when i was young – elementary school, some in middle school.  i remember thinking how miserable her job must be because she worked so much and she worked in a small office and it just didn’t bring joy to her.

on the other hand, my two dads worked for themselves.  they both ran {successful – i assumed} heating and air conditioning companies.  they set their own schedules {for the most part} and they seemed to like what they did.  they worked on the weekends {by choice}.

in elementary school, one of the most influential experiences of my childhood was having papa home every day after school and having neighborhood kids over to play street hockey, basketball or soccer.  papa would play with us and all the kids {i assume} loved to come over and hang out with papa.

this was definitely  a better outlook on work than what my mom experienced in Corporate America.  i wanted this freedom, this choice in how my day would go and when i would be home.

fast forward a few years…since early life i just assumed i would run my own company.  i didn’t know what i would do or how i would do it, but i would do it.

fast forward a few more year…i’ve started to realize you can’t have EVERYTHING you want, i don’t know why yet, but you can’t.  🙂

so, i had decided if you can’t own your own business right out of high school or college, then there were a few things i wanted in the ideal job:

  • corner office with a view {i wanted to be high above the street and be able to look out at what was going on below}
  • a big title that meant a lot and meant i was important to the company
  • a job where i didn’t have to punch a time clock or ask permission to use the restroom, go on lunch break or be worried about someone tracking every second of my time at work
  • the freedom to spend time with family when i wanted and how i wanted
  • a facility with a generous kitchen or break room area where i could prepare fresh meals if i so pleased
  • a position in the company that mattered – i didn’t want to be just another number, i wanted to know that the work i did made a difference in how well the company fared
  • time off without having to worry about counting the amount of days i had already taken or would need to take in the coming months
  • the ability to choose what i wanted to do, learn what i wanted to learn and change it up when i wanted a change

i’m sure there is/was more, but these were the main things.  fast forward a little bit farther to today…

{this is where life laughs in your face}

i work in a small business, i have a corner office,  a window with a view over the street where i can see what all is happening below.  i have a big title “business manager” that means i am pretty important to the company {or so i like to think} and i know that i make a difference because there’s no one else to do my work.  i don’t punch a time clock, sadly i am late pretty much every day, though it is my goal to be on time by the time summer starts and i have to be here an hour earlier.  i don’t need to ask permission to do anything as long as i get my work done and i spend the mornings with papa, the evenings with mom, the afternoons with the kids and if anyone takes a day off or doesn’t have school, you can bet your bottom dollar they interact with me quite a bit while i work.

i have a fully stocked kitchen with cookware i can use at my disposal and if i ask my mom, she’ll even buy the food i want to eat for me {i try not to ask, i feel like that’s a little needy for my age}.  i am certainly not a number; with a company with only 4-5 people on average, it’s pretty obvious when i’m not in or when i call in sick.  as long as its not busy, i can pretty much take any day off i can afford.  since no one really likes to work holidays around here, i’m pretty much guaranteed holiday time off.  i certainly get to choose what i do on a day-to-day, week-to-week or month-to-month basis.  my main job is to answer the phone and make sure the guys are doing good.  other than that, i can choose the course of my work.  the best part is the ability to choose what i am able to learn as well.

i have learned so much in the last 10 months and it amazes me more every day.  right now i am learning about building websites, social media & marketing and reading a book over the ins and outs of QuickBooks so i can go from being a “user” to being an “expert” at it.  i have also and continue to learn so much about corporations and what it takes to make the transition from a sole proprietor to a c-corp.  and, don’t even get me started on taxes.  i feel like taxes – income, sales, employment, business and corporate taxes are a never ending funnel.  it looks like it gets smaller at the end, but really it keeps going on forever.

so, thank you universe.  i am not living out my dream job, but maybe that is a good thing.  i am learning so much, and really, have all of my “must haves” in a non-dream job.  i’ll take a few moments to laugh with you.

 

house hunting

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it’s been a couple of weeks since i posted; my last post was all about finding the right house and NOW, i am thrilled to say i found the house!!

to be honest, i found the house a couple of weeks ago, a couple of days after my last post…but the last couple of weeks have been filled with stress in negotiating and waiting, stress over finding the right lender with the right pricing and then finding the right lender finally.

for the first time since i started looking for a house, i am confident there won’t be any hiccups and i am ready to talk about MY house!

first of all, let me introduce you to it, this is my house:

on the day i found the house we had looked at maybe 7 houses.  this was the most expensive house we looked at that day with the highest HOA fees and so i had set myself up to not like the house at all.  as soon as i walked in the front door, i felt like it was the right houses.  the other houses we had been to, i had to point out what i liked about the houses and try to ignore what i didn’t like.  this house was perfect.

it had windows everywhere, the kitchen was gorgeous, it had gas appliances, a window seat, 2″ blinds, beautiful cabinets, black appliances, a breakfast area, french doors on the master AND in the front bedroom, french doors into the master, his and hers sinks, separate garden tub and shower, large master closet and a walk in closet in a front bedroom.  the place was beautiful, upgraded light fixtures, nice, clean fireplace, HIGH ceilings, just perfect.

however, at the end of the day, chris and i were stuck between two foreclosures, both two stories, both four bedrooms – each with their own positives and each with their own negatives.  we had set this house aside because it was the most expensive.  the next day, i asked my wonderful Realtor to take me back to the two, 2-story houses along with my parents so i could get their feed back and put in an offer.

after looking at the two houses, we left realizing neither of the houses were really for me…for several reasons, not important.  on the way back to the colony, we ended up going to this house to show my parents and they loved it to!

that settled it, the second trip to see it confirmed it was the right house for me and i prepped to put in an offer!

{front door and hallway to living room}

we put in an offer for exactly what the seller was asking.  we knew the seller would likely have to bring their own money to the table because they hadn’t owned it very long and likely owed more than they were asking.  monday i got a call to give my best and final offer. i gave it and then later that night the seller came back with another offer i couldn’t take.  they wanted to reduce the amount of closing they had to pay to $2000.  there was no way i could pay what we thought would probably be $4000 for closing costs.

that night i went home sad and depressed knowing the house wasn’t going to be mine.  i resolved to wait until late april to start looking again.

but! the next day, i got another call from my Realtor and had just realized that morning that the closing costs were less than i thought and the final offer from the seller put us back where i wanted to be anyways.  the house was mine!!

{the kitchen}

i scheduled the inspection for saturday.  we were confident that the house would pass inspection – it was built in 2006 and was in pretty immaculate shape.  saturday came, the inspector said the worst problem with the house was some loose tape on the HVAC unit in the attic.  WHEW.  in case you didn’t know, both my dads own their own heating and air conditioning companies…problems with the HVAC, especially smalls ones like that are nothing!

i was thrilled!  when i got the inspection report, most everything that showed up either had to do with insulation, the hvac system or electrical.  my dad is also a licensed electrician in texas and arkansas.  the electrical stuff amounts to pretty much nothing – preventative measures…same with the hvac and insulation.  YES!

{living room}

last week was all about financing.  my lender had sent over more than 100 pages of documents for me to read and sign and sent me to a website with even more.  once i sent everything back, i got my good faith estimate and started shopping around.  who knew you were supposed to shop?  haha.  so thats what i did.  i shopped and shopped and shopped.

after talking with many different lenders and looking at numbers until i was blue in the face, i found a company – at the last minute – that was giving me a pretty amazing offer!  i had to redo the numbers over and over to make sure i wasn’t missing something.  i started a spreadsheet and compared every cost and charge and was shocked when i realized it really was possible!  PrimeLending was offering me a closing that saved me almost $1,000 at closing and more than $50 a month on my payments!  i was pretty ecstatic!  he also was able to give me an APR that was lower than anyone else!  oh yes, i was thrilled and immediately asked for him to get me locked in!

{master bedroom}

so that led me to thursday night.  for the first time since i began this process, a happy smile and calmness settled over me.  i was BUYING A HOUSE!  and what an incredible house!

when i started this process, i figured my budget would buy me an old house in a decent neighborhood that was not quite to the “falling apart” stage, but that would take lots of work over a number of years to keep it maintained.  i never imagined i’d be looking in a new neighborhood or looking at a newer house.  this house really and truly is more than i imagined and i couldn’t be happier!

with the new lender, my cost for this house ends up being only about $30 more a month than i am currently paying for my 820 sq ft, 1 bedroom apartment!  and that $30 a month is only because of the HOA…if it wasn’t for the HOA, this would be MUCH cheaper than my apartment.  but, the benefits of the community are pretty incredible too.

{master bathroom}

savannah is a master planned community that encompasses mostly cape cod style housing.  recently they have started building modern style brick homes as well.  i guess the idea of a master planned community is to build a neighborhood that eventually becomes its own city.  the communities are created to bring back an old fashioned way of life where neighbors get to know each other, interact and work together to create a safe, fun place to live.

there are walking and biking trails all over the community, a dog park – soon to be two, many parks and greenbelts throughout the community, a huge swimming area with a jr. olympic pool, kiddie pool, adult pool and hot tub, covered sand beach and tanning areas.  there is a work out facility, a craft/workout area for boot camp, karate, zumba and other classes.  men and women’s sauna, bath houses by the pools, full tennis and basketball courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, all sorts of clubs for so many different things, a ball room and movie theater and i’m sure much more than i even know.

{backyard}

so yup.  we are excited.  i am excited.  the animals don’t know it yet, but they, too are excited!  lacey will have a fenced in backyard for only the second time in her 9 years (i’m not counting the mold infested place we lived for 2 months when i first got back to dallas).  i can’t wait for us all to get settled in.  my dad will be visiting from arkansas and the first thing i’m going to ask [beg] him to do is put in a doggie door.  however, we don’t close until april 19, so we have a little ways to go.  i think we are at 40 days until we move in.  now starts the process of packing.  oh boy…always the favorite part of moving, right?

i think my favorite part of the whole situation is looking forward and knowing that this will be the last time i move for a long time.  thinking about unpacking ALL of my boxes, getting rid of a BUNCH of stuff i don’t even know i still have, settling in and staying someplace longer than 22 months.  incredible.  what a relaxing thought!

here are the final photos of my house!  enjoy!!

{office}

the french doors lead to the front porch.  you can JUST about see them in the photos of the front of the house.  eventually i’ll probably end up putting in a wall bed for guests.

{2nd bedroom}

i love that it has a walk in closet!  i like the two windows and how the wall kind of juts in.

So that is the house.  Feel free to leave comments, thanks for reading!!