The super big news!

I tried to post this yesterday, but the website was having problems. So instead I put in on Facebook, which means most of you already know this. But, for posterity's sake, I still have to blog about it. I have a house! And a much smaller bank account! But a house! After six weeks of the mortgage company asking for one piece of documentation at a time, always promising it would be the last thing they needed, and then one week of them realizing they wrote the loan wrong and had to start over, they finished on Monday. The girl from the title company came to my office yesterday and I spent my lunch time signing papers, and now I'm done! I spent today's lunch calling all the utilities companies and having the accounts switched to my name. It's a wonderful feeling to know I can stop emailing my banker and my realtor every few hours to find out the status of the paperwork. Yeah!! Now the real fun begins, right? I have my own yard to landscape however I want (within the HOA guidelines), I have my own walls to paint however I want, I can hang shelves and pictures wherever I want, etc., etc. This could be fun!

The not so big news...

I made an offer on my house about six weeks ago. I had the inspection the next week, and the second inspection later that week. Since then, the bank and title company have been requesting about one piece of information a day, each time saying it was the last thing they needed. I thought we had finally come to an end and that I'd be able to schedule a closing today. I really did. But now I'm just in limbo. The guy at the bank has been completely incognito today. He won't answer anybody's messages. So I may be closing this week, I may not. I'll just keep waiting. It's a little frustrating. On the other hand, watching all the repairs Mom and Dad have had to do on their house in the last few days, I'm perfectly happy to wait a little longer before taking on a home of my own.

The big news...

I saw a house online a few weeks that looked pretty good. The only problem was that it's in Daybreak (west side of the valley, for those of you who don't know). I didn't want to be on the west side. It's a long drive to most of my friends' houses. But I went and looked at this house last week anyway, just in case it was good enough to justify living on the west side. And it was! I fell in love with it almost immediately. I looked again on Tuesday, and still liked it. The agent said there was another offer coming in, so I had to act fast. I made an offer last night. The other offer came in a little higher today, but the agent said that since I was first, if I would match the second offer I could have it. So I had to up it a little (what's a few thousand dollars over 30 years, right? That's what I keep telling myself), and I got it. My real estate agent came over tonight with the paperwork and I signed everything, and that's that. Now I'm in the thick of it- scheduling inspections, talking to the bank, thinking about furniture, etc. Woohoo! The house is 6 years old, has a perfectly-sized fenced backyard (a lot of Daybreak doesn't have yards- that would have been a deal-breaker for me), hard wood floors, and a big porch. And an attached garage in the back. It's super cute.

I Have Arrived

It seems I've reached a new season of my life. As most of you are probably aware, I have not always been the amazing fashionista that stands before you today. In fact, in the not-too-distant past, I was clueless about what clothes went together and what was cute. In high school, I was proud of the fact that I had enough vests to wear a different one each day of the week. And these weren't good vests, either. In college, my roommates wouldn't let me shop alone, and often picked my clothes out for me because they knew if I tried, there would be an implosion from bland, unbalanced outfits. And even just a few months ago, one of my friends saw a picture of me and busted up laughing and said, "See, Carolyn- this is why we don't let you shop alone." Apparently my outfit was wrong. But today, one of the guys at work asked me if I ever watch any of those fashion makeover shows on cable. I said, "You mean What Not To Wear?" And he said, "Yes! Your outfit today looks like Stacy and Clinton put it together." So there you go. I'm now qualified to walk down the sidewalks of New York without feeling ashamed of my too baggy t-shirt or too short pants or too clunky shoes. I've graduated from being helpless in my own closet to being confident in a store!

Siggggggghhhhhhh....... it's amazing what a little golf can do for a person. I've been telling myself for months that it's time to break out the clubs and officially open my golf season. But every weekend, something comes up and I'm not able to hit the golf course. But yesterday, after a few very busy and stressful weekends, I finally scheduled the entire day for fun. I started the day with a good workout while watching Jerry Maguire (edited) on the tv at the gym. It really is a good movie. I've only seen the edited version, so I don't know how bad it gets, but I like it. But that's not the point of this post. After the gym I ate pancakes (one of my favorite foods), then went hiking with my friend and her big black lab. After hiking I worked on my finances (sounds boring, but I love it. I love planning and budgeting and researching investments), then had leftover pancakes toasted and slathered in peanut butter, and a diet Pepsi for lunch. All on my list of favorites. Then I took time for a little shopping. So, already a great day, right? But it got even better. I finally made it to the golf course and hit a bucket of balls. And for the first time out this season, I must say I did pretty well. Many of the balls flew far and straight (many also crept along the ground and barely made it to the edge of the tee area, but we don't have to think about those). I don't know if it's being out in the fresh air and sun and smelling the fresh grass, or if it's the satisfaction of whacking those balls and hearing the little "ping" noise they make when the club hits them, but something about golfing does wonders for me. The world truly is a better place after just a little while on the golf course. I'm more patient with bad drivers, I'm happy with just about anything on the radio, life is just better. Golfing should be a required hobby for convicted felons, serial killers, terrorists, etc. I think it would cure them right up.

Scents and Scentsibility

Okay, maybe I'm stretching a bit for a title for this post. Whatever. I've had nothing terribly interesting to blog about lately, but I'm ready for a new post, so this is what you all get. I've been noticing smells lately, and it's interesting to realize the things I associate them with. So here's a list of some of the smells I like and the things they remind me of:

Freshly cut lawn: this is the smell of summer (one of them, anyway). When I smell freshly cut grass, I immediately think of baseball games, golf courses, and long walks.

Bacon: I don't actually like bacon. But sometimes I like the smell. It smells to me like a winter morning with friends and family. And of course pancakes.

Skunk: Okay, I realize skunk isn't actually a good smell. But it takes me automatically to an evening drive through the country or a night walk through my Virginia and Michigan neighborhoods.

Cigarette smoke: You thought skunk was weird. Well, I don't like being around people when they're smoking, and I certaintly don't want that smell attaching itself to my clothes or anything, but if it's not too heavy, it smells like a street festival or some other type of outdoor crowd. And I love outdoor crowds. It's fun to be one little person in the midst of hundreds of other people, all out enjoying a fun night.

Hyacinths: I love the smell of hyacinths. When I get my first whiff of hyacinth for the year, I know spring has officially arrived. And I got that whiff today. It was wonderful. And speaking of flowers...

Lillies: Lillies have such a strong smell, and they give me a headache after just a few minutes, but it's still one of my favorite smells. I think this is because lillies are popular around Easter, which often falls on my birthday, so lillies are the smell of my birthday (aka, the best day of the year).

Lilacs: Another smell of summer.

Jasmine: The smell of California, and hence, vacations.

Sage: Sage smells like freedom. The Utah mountains abound with sage, so the smell reminds me of hiking and getting away from technology and not having to worry about real life for a little while.

And of course, good cologne. The tiniest hint of the right colognes takes me to so many good times with good friends. I think each chapter of my life has a different cologne, based on my group of friends during that time. And it doesn't just remind me of my guy friends who wore that flavor- it also reminds me of the girls in our groups. Some of my favorites, in chronological order, are Cool Water, Curve, Fierce, and Axe Kilo. And one from either Guess or Banana Republic. I can't remember.

Oh, and just one or two more I just thought of:

Apple soap/lotion: this is the smell of my teenage years.

Hairspray: the smell of the first day of school.

Diesel fuel: London. I love it.

Which State's Plates?

This has been on my mind lately, and for those of you who follow me on Facebook, you know. I don't like Utah's license plates. Now, I'm not really one for accessories (I don't think I've ever bought myself a necklace, I only wear belts to hold my pants up, you get the picture), but I do like the little touches that liven up my car's appearance. One of the things I was most excited for when I moved to Michigan was that they had just released a new license plate design. It has a light green and blue background and a picture of the upper peninsula. It's pretty, and I felt like it was the final touch to my already stylin' car. Coming back to Utah was a different story. The plates here are brown or orange. And even the special interest plates are boring! They're just white with a symbol of whatever group they support. In other states, special interest plates are all different. In Virginia, there was one with an autumn leaf border, another with a blue background and a picture of a cool land formation, another with the Chesapeake bay, some with flowers, birds, etc. If license plates are the fashion statement of a car, Utah provides basically a burlap sack dress. The plates are so boring and flatter very few cars. I wish we could pick which state to register in based on license plates. I'd have a tough time choosing, but some of the contenders would be Arizona's new clean air license plate (light blue with white fluffy clouds), Colorado's new plate (light green with mountains and a sunset, I think), Nebraska, Oregon (that green pine tree in the middle makes any car look good), and South Dakota. On the other hand, the newest Utah plate, with the brown band across the top and the blue mountain background, is unique. I think it would draw the attention of other drivers in other states, just because it has different colors than any other state. It's bold, and for that reason I like it. And I guess my car, being brown, is one of the few that can carry this plate off well. So I'll embrace it.