Crazy Ride

Wow the last two months have been one crazy ride! It all ended last Tuesday night after a recount of the election last Monday phew..... Then of course once all the stress is over I ended up not feeling very well I thought I was getting a sinus infection but by the end of the day Thursday on my way back from an MMC Presentation in Holladay the world started spinning and didn't stop. I had the chance to experience Vertigo for the first time in my life and all I can say is that my hat is off to anyone that has to deal with it very often. It seriously was AWEFUL!.
My world was spinning for two days straight I missed a day and a half from work because I could not read or look at a computer screen it made the dizzy feeling so much worse. I finally had had enough and it was getting worse not better so Friday night I had my grandparents come get me and take me to the instacare in springville (since I couldnt drive) Props for them and for the instacare workers they are always so nice. I was lucky enough to have the same doctor that stitched up my thumb back in May. He was very helpful, explained what was wrong really well.


Turns out I had no infection in my ear, my eustacian tube was plugged and all the little parts inside my inner ear that deal with balance and equilibrium were all out of whack. My brain was getting told one thing from my ear and a different thing from my eyes hence the vertigo so horrible. For those of you that know me well you will know I didn't feel good by this.... I was so nauseated that I couldn't nor did I want to eat anything!!! Yes me.... not wanting to eat food...LOL that never happens I LOVE food :)

Needless to say I was pretty miserable I couldn't even sit up or I would throw up, sorry probably too much information but it was not a fun experience. Plus I guess my ear drum was bulging so there was and still is pain inside my ear but it is getting better I am able to function and walk around. Unfortunately the heavy duty meds they put me on are some kind of steriod. I only have to take them for a few days but the doctor said they will completely destroy my immune system.... Oh great my immune system already sucks. I got stuff done yesterday and I don't dare leave the house today because I do not have time to catch something. This week is thanksgiving and I don't want to miss out!!!!

That was my crazy adventure that thankfully I am on the mend from, the worst part was the dr. told me I could not drive. I hate the feeeling of losing your independence like that it stinks. I am on the mend though and hope to be back to normal in another day or so. Then off the the Gym just in time to work off everything I am going to eat on Thursday!!!!

To all of you I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving I hope you have great food and great company!

Ready or not...

I hope you all had a great Halloween!
I guess I will do a little catching up since I have been so busy with elections I have not had time to get online much less clear my head enough to write.
I had a very enjoyable deer hunt with the family, great food! good company and wonderful scenery.

I hate to talk about work but its about all I am up to for the time being. I completed the early voting we had a few hitches and I had a few panic attacks LOL but by the time we completed the ballot disposition Friday night we were only an hour and a half late.
We ran around all the polling booths etc. to the schools last week so all i have left is to deliver the election materials to the poll workers tomorrow and a few other last minute things then Tuesday is the big day! it will start at about 6:00 a.m. and not end until probably midnight or so if everything goes well and my election poll workers get it counted without too many issues. I have my fingers crossed that it will all go smooth and we wont have too many problems. It is a really scary thought to think you have the possibility to mess up a city election for a city of 32,000 people. I am a little stressed out and chocolate is definitely my friend!
The diet starts Wednesday :)

I have no pictures to post but I hope to have some from next weekend when we get to go to the SEMA auto show again in Vegas!

I Love Fall

Can I just say that I love fall, the warmer days but chilly mornings the leaves changing colors. The only bad part is it leads into winter which I dislike very much. I HATE being cold.... I only like winter for snowboarding, snowmobiling, making snow men and of course Christmas and the holidays!

One of my favorite parts is when I finally admit defeat that the summer is gone and I pull out my Halloween Decorations. I make myself a nice cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the fall cleaning and putting up the great orange and black decor.

This was Whiskey Sue.. I had a great time riding her a little while back.

Explanation, Going Private

I have to admit I am not very good at this whole blogging deal, but I would like to get better at it so I am toying with the idea of making my blog private so I can talk about all the things I am up to and post pictures and not have to worry who is reading/looking at it. I want to post for my family and friends to keep them updated on my crazy life.

Call me paranoid but I have thought about it alot and I am even going to take my pictures off my facebook and just keep it as a contact point.

I enjoy keeping up with everyone that I care about and I am worried that I might lose contact with some of you so I am hoping that by publishing this post I can give everyone a heads up on the whole going private idea.

Please either e-mail me or post a comment so I can add you to my blog.
kdsgifts4u@yahoo.com

The Zoo

I had a chance to spend the day with my mother for her birthday and when I asked her what she wanted to do she said she wanted to go to the zoo. We had a nice time and both felt like little kids again we went out to lunch at P.F. Changs and went shopping it sure was a nice time and I hope she had a great birthday!

Full Weekend

I apologize for not having pics to post but I had to write about my great weekend. I was able to attend the Nephi Rodeo on Friday night, Saturday I spent the whole day shopping and laughing with my mom, I attended my friend Amy's wedding reception, then spent time with the family at dinner laughing it was much needed. Sunday I got to see the new transformers movie it was good, and then my neighborhood had a potluck it was fun the little kids put on a play/band and danced and stuff it was super cute! Then I went running and I am trying to get to bed getting up to work out comes early!!!!

Great Holiday and Birthday

This weekend was a really nice one I had a good time relaxing on Friday then Saturday was filled with BBQ's and fireworks, family and great friends it was a really nice 25th birthday. Thank you to all my wonderful friends I couldn't ask for better!
Sunday has been a lazy day but a good one I don't have much time but I thought I would write a little bit.

We went to West Jordan park and watched the fireworks with friends and it was really fun... not because of the fireworks, they were not that great but definitely the company made it a really nice time.

New Dishwasher

We finally got my new dishwasher installed last night... bless my aunt and uncle for all their work we had to run and get parts etc. They did not get done until 11:00 last night but I know it is going to be nice to have it is sooo quiet!!!!













I am super excited!

Also my cousins came through on their way to visit the other cousins in Montana they are all going camping and I tell you I wish I could be going too!!
Life has been super crazy but I have to say I am glad to see the sun come out finally this June has been really strange when it comes to weather.

I am doing really well with eating gluten free and besides gaining back a bunch of weight I am feeling very healthy and much better than I have in years!
It has been nice because my best friend Jessica has had problems with her health for a few different reasons but she is sure a support when it comes to finding gluten free information etc. We are able to share new things we learned and we both are feeling MUCH better!

Terrible Blogger

I have to apologize I stink at this whole blogging business. I am sure me traveling around and never being home this last month has not helped much either. I still can't find my camera charger so I took a couple pics with my phone. I will be getting some from my friends that attended that I can post later.









I don't even know where to start so maybe I better just do a quick catch up and start from here forward. I had a chance to go to Chicago for the International Institute of Municipal Clerks 2009 Conference. It was great the classes were good the speakers were great! We heard from Jim Lovell the captain of Apollo 13, the founder of monster.com, we had skits from Second City, watched Michael Israel paint, met Gary Senise from CSI New York, had free run of the Field Museum, free admission to the art institute museum, we just plain wore ourselves out. I even got to eat on top of the John Hancock Building it was wonderful. There were also tons of great gluten free restaurants throughout the city even a yummy italian place!

The city was nice it seemed to be quite clean and everything is within walking or short cab rides from our hotel the palmer house hilton. Of course there was a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts on every corner, I am now officially addicted to Starbucks Hot Chocolate plus they even have a gluten free orange cake that is pretty good! I wished I could have eaten a brownie since Mrs. Palmer invented them at that hotel :)

I have been super busy at work gearing up for Municpal Elections this years candidacy filing starts July 1 -15. If I don't blog the month of July I apologize in advance it is going to be one crazy ride with all I have going on and Fiesta Days and such.









I was also able to make a short visit to Reading, PA It was completely enjoyable to just take some time and relax catch some baseball games and do a little shopping. I had no idea Taylor Swift was from that town, in fact I had it in my head she wasn't even from PA, but some other state. Oh the things you learn in life... LOL.












This was Reading's Pagoda it was built in the early 1900's as a retreat and didn't go over too well so the city bought it for a $1 or so. It is pretty cool the drive up the hill to it is quite nice there are critters all over. Little rabbits just chilling in people's yards and such it was fun.

It has been a crazy past month but a good one, I have been able to visit dear friends and take some time for myself. I figure now it's onward to working on the house, getting in shape and enjoying the summer etc. My countertops are in but just waiting to be installed probably at the end of the month. Hooray!!!

Oh and in the middle of all that hectic stuff my phone broke, it just quit working so I have lost all my contact #'s I would love it if you sent me your phone #'s again so I can have contact with everyone.

First GIG Meeting

Last night I was able to attend my first (GIG) Gluten Intolerance Group meeting. It was better than I ever expected. Having never been to any sort of support group.... not really even know what those were or how they worked it was great!

The topic was on tips for traveling gluten free. There is just so much to learn about cross contamination, one of the cute ladies said when you explain it to other people try the nice way first which is explaining it's like a peanut allergy... all it has to do is touch and then she told me if that doesn't work ... ask them if they would eat something that had been sitting on "rat poison" I cracked up, but truly I am finding it is hard to stress the importance to people who just don't understand it.

I was also amazed at the varying degrees and types of symptoms, one poor ladies lips swell up if she eats anything with gluten and another breaks out in hives clear down her throat, then there are the lucky ones of us that have the digestive troubles such as myself. It felt great to be in a room with others that "get it" and understand what your going through. When I told them about binging on a batch of home made oatmeal cookie dough they just nodded their head and told me I was normal. They said it is a process you go through to finally get to be gluten free and MUCH healthier, no more malnutrition problems and all that includes.

The only discouraging part is that is can take 6 months to a year to feel better depending on how severe your symptoms are. I did come away thinking if these other individuals can do this and some with entire families that either have Celiac or are extremely gluten intolerant then I can do this.

At least for now I only have to focus on one thing I can't eat instead of that whole list of things, that was truly difficult.

My First Stitches!

Tuesday night was a little crazy... in fact this whole week has been a mess. I was getting ready to head over to American Fork to attend a CMC presentation at their City Council meeting Tuesday night. I was making a snack before I left because I was hungry. Let's put it this way I was fighting with getting the pit out of an avocado and the knife slipped and cut my thumb open. Five stitches and a tetanus shot later I have a nice sore thumb and arm.

It was quite the experience at least the doctor and nurse at the insta-care in Springville were nice. I HATE needles so all the shots to numb it up were not a happy time for me..... I turned into a little kid and had to hold my mothers hand. She drove me there since I couldn't let go of it or it would start bleeding everywhere.... driving a stick shift car was not an option.

It has been quite the ride and I am glad I am on the healing side of it now.

I wish I had better pictures to post I my phone is not the best, but I can't find my camera, who knows where it went camera's and I have bad luck for sure!

Visit to the Doc

As most of you know I have been struggling with some health issues the last few years and have been trying to get to the bottom of it. I finally feel like I am winning the battle, it all started last year when I discovered the affects MSG and Aspartame had on me and how terrible they are for everyone. I tried to cut out all processed foods etc. and it helped a TON but still did not fix the problem.

So to a specialist I went and had all kinds of tests run on me some of which were not so fun! I truly am glad we have doctors but I am also of the opinion (and this is my own opinion) that they are only human and can sometimes end up just prescribing a pill to cover up the problem never finding out the cause of the issue. Therefore nothing gets fixed you just end up with a whole other set of side affects and so on.....

So to alternative medicine I went, I believe there is some truth in it and I have a dear family friend who is finishing up her schooling in Chinese Medicine. I have listened to a lot of people and done soo much research (with lots to still do) but there is only one conclusion, only you know how your body feels and what is wrong/not right with it. Unless you express those concerns to your doctor or act upon them and do research there will never be a miracle pill out there that will get rid of all your weight or cure what ails you.

Ok sorry I will get off my soap box but truly you have to take control of your life, you are the only one that can change it. Yes I know it is so much easier said than done.... take it from one who is having to shift everything she knows about her relationship with food (chocolate) and change my mindset on not only my healthy eating but my outlook on life. The first six weeks of my diet was a crazy ride and definately more downs then ups I must confess but I am learning and like my friend Carol told me "just remember it is a journey" and those words are true, I cannot beat myself up over when I ate a little sugar but be glad that I am night and day different already then I was before I took control of my eating. My outlook is positive and I think in this adventure we call life that is the best attitude to have.

I have been searching for some fellow bloggers dealing with some of the same issues as myself and I hope to post more information.... especially on gluten free for little shelby..... and anyone else out there that can benefit from what I am learning.

Happy Easter!

I figure that I couldn't pass up an opportunity to write a note of thank you for all the blessings I have in my life. I hope everyone had a great Easter and that you also among all the fun and food took just a moment to remember the reason for Easter .... and I don't mean a rabbit or a bunny.

Thinking in Writing

Here is my first post on my new computer at my own house... yes milestones all the way around. Let me first explain I am sitting on the floor leaning over typing on the keyboard on the floor, too funny as soon as I find me a bargain computer desk I will get one or if any of you are getting rid of one I will be glad to take it off your hands.

Next thing is that I must first thank Kenna for giving her house-poor little friend their old computer tower to make this possible, and I must thank B.J. and all his wisdom and computer skills for wiping it and making it run like a champ.. way to go!

I have so many things I want to blog about but I better first start with how excited I am to attend a baby shower tomorrow for a very dear friend one who has come in and out of my life at times that I have needed it so congrats again Shannon on your little one I am excited to come see everyone and thanks for being such a great person.

Next I took the plunge and am getting new counter-tops for both my bathrooms and my kitchen. The first set of remodel will be the bathrooms and I just purchased some super nice sinks and faucets so I hope it all comes together. The cabinet guy has already been here and given me a bid and I have picked the counter-tops... don't get too excited it is just laminate but pretty dang good looking laminate if I do say so myself......

Here are a few pictures the first set is the downstairs bathroom marble sink and faucet the next set has two glass sinks and two faucets for the master bath (I am going for a spa-like feel in the master bath if you can't tell):
No worries I will take before and after pictures for you all to see! I hope it turns out good.

A Few Good Gluten Free Restaurants

I just thought I would note a few great places to eat out that I have tried that will not bore you with bland gluten free food. (good to know if you ever go out with someone who cannot eat gluten)

Carrabba's
http://www.carrabbas.com/menu/pdf/GFmenu.pdf

PF Changs
http://www.pfchangs.com/menu.shtml

Like I have said before, this has been a crazy adventure, I find out on the 22nd how differently my diet will change forever then I hope to get posting information as I learn.

New Discovery

Ok don't laugh but I started the next phase of this food adventure and you have to mix this powder in with something and drink it 2 times a day in between meals it is supposed to help detox my liver.
Well lets just say that chocolate soy milk is my new best friend!! After gagging and concocting every idea I could come up with to try to get the goo down yesterday, this morning I landed on chocolate soy milk.... don't knock it until you try it.

I would never recommend regular soy milk to anyone I think it is terrible stuff but the chocolate on the other hand is quite good. It is a super great treat for me since I have not had sugar.... yes I checked and the sugar level is not that bad only 19 grams in a cup... compare that to regular chocolate milk :) at least I am finally able to get something sweet out of this deal... LOL.

Also last night I was able to grab some food with a dear friend and she in her own way helped me to realize I should probably post about some of my great/easy meals I am learning to make and the different "light bulbs" that I am encountering along the way. I hope to get some good stuff posted soon!

A Sugar Note to Make Me Feel Better

I just thought I would share this tidbit of information because I have really been struggling getting off the sugar and these medical comments have at least made me feel a little better.

"Some experts believe kicking sugar is harder than kicking cigarettes or even heroine!"


"Many health experts consider white sugar to be second in place to poison."


"Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease."


"Eliminating all of the sugar from your diet is a sure-fire way to go crazy. You'll literally be pulling your hair out in frustration and could be having symptoms of sickness. Why will taking sugar out of your diet do all of this? Because most people are actually addicted to sugar! That's right, its an addiction just as real as drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes and you can have the same symptoms of withdrawal from taking sugar out of your diet."

So there are a few fun facts about the crazy ride I have been going through. I will have to say that when I thought about sugar I never thought about it being in real foods I eat I just thought about it in the "Chocolate" sense since that is my weakness/addiction.

The crazy and hard part is to know that it is in tons of foods such as white flour, white rice, fruits etc. For anyone that would like to join in on this fun trip with me I copied a pretty good article on how to detox off sugar..... I challenge anyone to try to live sugar free (that means natural sugars too) for a week and see what happens :)

Thanks for reading I am sure my blog will become somewhat of a journal of this life changing adventure! I am hoping to post a few great recipes as I try to get some good meals that are Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free and super Tasty because all of you that know me know I LOVE my good food!

3 1/2 weeks & counting to go....on this diet restriction...

Visit From Europe

As many of you know when it comes to my job I get to be involved with a lot of different things. Once a year Spanish Fork City Hosts what is called the German Marshall Memorial Fellows. It is a great program where the United States sends people of influence to Europe and different countries in Europe send people of influence to America. They go to several cities throughout the country learning about different ways things are done. The program was set up after WWII to create better understanding/relations between the US and Europe.
This year we were host to Several wonderful people one from Bosnia/Herzegovina, France, Germany, Bulgaria, and Denmark.

They stay with host families for part of the time out on farms, Spanish Fork is the rural experience for the program and I had to laugh when they considered us "small town" Considering the population of Paragoonah is less than 1,000 people. Spanish Fork has about 32,000 residents so quite a bit larger. We take them riding horses, shooting trap, to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Music and the Spoken Word Broadcast. We tour the humanitarian center and welfare square.

We also get to have lunch with a church official this year is was Elder Condie of the seventy, and Elder Banks and his wife, they are the head of church hosting. The Europeans are able to ask all the questions they like about the LDS church and they usually are quite interested in the division of church and state.

We also get to take them to the State Capital for a meeting with the Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert. I quite enjoy the time we get to spend with them and all that I learn about the differences and similarities between us.

By the time they leave I want to visit everyone of their countries because they all sound so wonderful and I hope someday that I get the chance to do so. As for right now I am still going to try to plan a trip to Paris, Brussels, and Germany, if any of you would like to come please let me know I am looking for a travel buddy.

*Those featured in this picture are:
Aleksander from Bosnia
Rodoslov from Bulgaria
Me
Valerie from France
Elder Condie
Katrin from Germany
Nagieb from Denmark
Dave Oyler City Manager
Seth Perrins Assistant City Manager

Update on Life

Sorry I have not been very good at blogging lately I am afraid it is only going to get worse as the weather warms up and I find myself out and about more. I thought I would write a bit and try to get caught up on things that have been happening.

I probably first should write on what NOT to do when home improving your kitchen cabinets, you know the old saying "measure twice cut once" I should have measured many times drilled once. I will try to get a picture posted of the result. I ended up making the holes too far apart.... Oh well it's how home improvement projects go.

I also was the lucky winner of a horrible bout with the flu, the body ache kind where it did not matter if the world was ending I still didn't care that is how bad it was. I missed an entire week of work, I felt terrible. I did nothing but sleep. I went to the doctor the first time and they gave me a shot, it did not help at all, that was on a Monday so on the Thursday I made my brother take me to the insta care in Springville because I couldn't breathe, I was worried I had Pneumonia (spelling?) they checked me out said I didn't have it and gave me some more antibiotics and finally some cough syrup. I am happy to say I am back to normal and as busy as ever.

Also during all this fun I started my gluten free food restriction diet. After I went to the doctor they put me on a no dairy, no gluten, NO SUGAR.... I have been enjoying the fun of a sugar detox the last week and it has been a crazy ride. I am doing better this week I still struggle between lunch and dinner but I do just fine the rest of the time so progress is good. I only have 5 weeks left to go!! YAY then hopefully we can get to the bottom of what makes me so sick all the time.

This last weekend I had the opportunity to head south to warmer climate, I enjoyed the sunshine and even got to take a motorcycle ride up to Zion National Park it was great. The down side was I did get a flat tire during the weekend compliments of a pothole and had to end up buying a new tire for my car.

The Monday night was my Cousin Taylor's dance review, she was co-captain of the team this year and did a great job with creating several great routines. They won State Champions for 3A in Nevada this year. It was great and fun to see all the family. Then I headed home and am back to work busy getting ready to host the German Marshall Memorial Fellowes they arrive Friday.

Amy's Shower

This Saturday I helped throw a Bridal Shower for a good friend, it was alot of fun! I hosted it at my new house and I just have to say that my best friend Jessica is amazing at thinking up great ideas, I hope everyone had alot of fun. Here are a few pics of our adventure.

Blog Following

Ok so I have hardly any followers for my blog I would love it if you would add yourself to the list and make me feel like actually I have friends :)

It was not working right so you couldn't add yourself to the list but thanks to my trusty friend McKenna I am back in business and asking for those few of you that read to add your name to the list.

Also I am off to the Rascal Flatts concert tonight I will for sure blog about it afterwards!!!

Too Funny

I hope no one gets offended but I thought this was a funny one:

FINALLY, THE BLONDE JOKE TO END ALL BLONDE JOKES
>
> A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here
> and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out
> how to get it started." Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be
> when it's finished?" The blonde says, According to the picture on
> the box, it's a tiger."
>
> Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She
> lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over
> the table.
> He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then
> turns to her and says, "First of all, no matter what we do, we're not
> going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a tiger."
>
> He takes her hand and says, "Second, I want you to relax. Let's
> have a nice cup of tea, and then ..." He sighed........
>
>
> "Let's put all the Frosted Flakes back in the box......."

The luck continues

This is a shout out to anyone who has tried to do a simple home improvement project.

There is no such thing!

I was just going to add some knobs and drawer pulls to my cabinets, simple and not too hard right? WRONG, we get the holes drilled for the knobs first and guess what..... yep that is right the screws are not long enough, crap, so once again I end up having to finish a project by myself. It always happens I think I am ready to go and I even have the help over and available and then......... wham something always goes wrong, like when I got my dryer I had everything to get it hooked up the guy even checked to make sure the plug was right..... wrong..... so the help was there but the plug was wrong. Sometimes I think home projects are supposed to never go right and if they go right for you count yourself very lucky!

Well that is my vent for now, I will get some pictures posted but currently I have cupboards with holes drilled in them and no hardware...lucky me!

I'm Official

I was presented the award of Certified Municipal Clerk at our last City Council meeting, also I am now officially the youngest certified municipal clerk in the state. It was really neat board members drove from Brigham City, Clearfield City, and Draper City to present the award. Tracy did a great job explaining the importance and how it takes 60 points to achieve it and a bachelors degree will only get you 20 points. The paper is going to do a write up so be checking the Spanish Fork Press and the Spanish Fork News for my story.

Update

After a long week of bad weather and a terrible cold I can honestly say I am almost moved into my new place.... well let me rephrase I will have all my stuff in one place actually being moved in might take a while. It is my hope that by the end of this weekend I can have a house warming party date in mind!
I finally got my claim form for my luggage items so that should speed the process of them finding my stuff sooner, in the mean time bless my little brother he bought me a house warming gift of a new digital camera so I can post pictures. The camera is plugged in and being charged as I write so I hope to get some pictures posted soon!
Thank you again to all my wonderful friends that have offered and helped to move my stuff or if anything have been moral support through this learning event. I know this is a great step forward and it will be a new adventure! Come on over once I get settled and I will cook you one of my new recipes from the Shearer's page! Only the best cooks around this area, you will not be disappointed I promise.

Complete Frustration

Where do I begin? For those of you who have experienced the Joy of buying your own home you will totally understand this, for those of you who have not this just makes the rumors you have heard true :)

We were set to close today, I was told they had not had a file as great as mine in a long time (no I am not bragging) so last week this dumb mortgage insurance thing kept creeping up, basically it all comes down to the fact that I am now having to close tomorrow and it has nothing to do with anything I did!

The appraiser bless his heart checked a stupid box and that is what this whole mess has been over! When we asked him to uncheck the box he was fine with it, so then we had to resubmit and they have a 24 hour turn around policy hence the closing tomorrow, and I have no idea when yet? Yikes this buying a house thing sure puts you through an emotional roller coaster. But nothing bad has happened it is just frustrating so don't think I am being a downer or anything just venting mostly.


On a lighter note I was super excited for my new washer, I think I got a pretty sweet deal and I even got a knife set for free (which I needed) I was going to have to buy one anyway so that was an added bonus. I have no problem buying a discontinued product (because it was cream colored) I still get the same product as the expensive one. I bought a whirlpool cabrio washer and I am sure I will enjoy doing laundry much much more. It is just like a front load only it is a top load. I can wash all my big comforters and everything I am excited no more laundromat YAY!

Crazy Times

Ok so I know I said we closed on the 26th but things have changed and we now close on the 20th! My life feels like a whirlwind that is for sure I will post more when I get a chance (If I survive) Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to help me move all my lovely crap.... I mean stuff.

Explanation

I guess I should probably explain a bit about how I ended up buying my own place.
It has been a long trek, I started looking about 2 1/2 years ago and could kick myself for not buying at that time but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I was able to do alot of fun things over the last few years so I am not complaining. Anyways so this last fall I finally decided it was time to look again and that I was ready to take that life change and actually live on a budget in order to own my own place.

I looked at quite a few town homes both new and older, forgive me but I actually even briefly.... and I repeat briefly because I had a momentary lapse in judgement ..... looked in Payson.
Ok you can stop laughing now, it was just to check the market. I have been doing alot of research and praying since early in the fall. I must state how truly blessed I have been as far as everything falling into place, I sold my beautiful black truck which was also a goal I reached in my life. I have had some great things fall into place to get me to this point.
I checked out several places in the fall and decided to wait it out for a few months and see what else comes on the market and also what the market was going to do.

Before Christmas I found the cutest town house that was move in ready..... I really liked it but decided to check out my options, so I found another townhome that needed some love. I want to thank My best friend Jess and her super great husband BJ for helping me figure out how much it would need to be up to par..... then I put in an offer..... they countered super high and it turns out they owed too much on the property so I was mulling over a counter offer or not when an idea popped into my head. It would take too much to write it all in a post to explain so if you want to know just ask, I consulted several trusted sources and ended up making an offer for the move in ready place that I fell in love with before Christmas and they took the first offer!! It is for sure a buyers market.

The rest is history we close on the 26th and I hope to be moving in at the end of the month!
I will try to get some pictures posted to show the process, even if I have to borrow a camera (since I still do not have mine)

Again I want to thank my family and friends for all their help and support, it is hard to make a BIG change in your life you get into that comfort zone and don't want to leave until forced... I am hoping to take the proactive approach and do it now before I am forced at some point out of that bubble. I also feel that this is going to be a good life experience and I am up for the challenge (I hope). I know that what we do in this life makes us who we are and helps to mold us into better people and I know this experience has and will help me to continue to grow in life experience and move forward.

I got It!!

I thought I would at least post a picture of the outside of my new place!!!
I close on the 26th and I am excited! I will for sure post more pictures later.

First Offer

Well I did it I finally put in a first offer on my very own town home. I have done alot of research and alot looking and alot of figuring over the last few months and I finally found one I am ready to own. Yesterday I put my offer in and I have until 5:00 tonight to hear back I will post what I find out.

Also I want to apologize for my lack of pictures I guess I am going to have to go buy another camera since they still have not found our luggage and I suppose we will never see it again.