So...I'm still alive! It's been ages- almost a freakin' month! I haven't had internet (or cable) at home and work has been insanity, but life has been pretty good this last month.
We moved out of the apartment officially on the 18th. And by "officially" I mean we rented a truck to bring our furniture and large boxes to the house and had help from Nick's brother and mom as well as my brother's best friend (Side note: my brother couldn't help us because he was WORKING because he finally got a JOB! WOO. He has been looking for almost 2 years now, with no bites. He is now a paid mechanic's apprentice at the local STS. Yay Brother!).
Moving day was insane because although the apartment was filled with boxes, it was also filled with a lot of stuff that was not inhabiting boxes because we got so caught up in fixing up the new place, we forgot about packing up the old place. We got as much done as we could but eventually ran out of boxes. However, we purposely gave ourselves an extra 12 days to work on the apartment after we were out, so we managed to move everything that was left and clean everything up before our lease was up. We also got complimented by our leasing agent with regard to how great we left the apartment. She told us that no one could ever guess that we've lived there for 3 years and that she was very impressed with how nice it looked. We're getting back our full security deposit!!!
This is wonderful news because we discovered that we needed a new stove and dishwasher. While technically the contract stated that all appliances came with the house, the stove was disgusting and the dishwasher was not functioning and the contract also stated that they were "as is". We lived for about 2 weeks with no stove. That sucked! We ate more microwaveable food in those 2 weeks than we usually do in 2 months. I cooked my first meal on our new stove this past Saturday and it was so good to taste real food.
We're currently renovating the kitchen and coexisting with a crapton of boxes. We have to play the "who can find it first" game whenever we need something we haven't seen in a while but we're managing and not killing each other. If anything, this has reaffirmed just how great of a team we make.
Sometimes our "off" days coincide but generally when one of us is unmotivated/grumpy/overwhelmed, the other is there as a cheerleader. So far, we've cleaned up the fridge, closets and counters; primed the walls and ceiling in the kitchen; took apart, cleaned and sanded the cabinets and now we're stating to contact paper the shelves and paint the built-ins. It's easier now to work on the house because we're out of the apartment. No need to go there after work, clean up there, come home, clean up/renovate at the house, then pass out at 1am. It's still tough because we haven't really taken much time off and between both of us working full time and then some, we can't contribute as much time as we'd like. But on the flip side, we're bringing in extra money which we will absolutely put to use. Between my part time gig at ShopRite and Nick's freelance computer work, we're easily bringing in an extra $700 a month. It's definitely coming in handy because on top of the stove and dishwasher, we also have to buy all the supplies for painting, screens and blinds for the windows, 2 new shower/tub combos, replacement carpet for the stairs and all the other random $20 purchases at Home Depot that will slowly but surely add up. Plus, I need a new computer. YAY LOTS OF EXPENSES!
More miscellaneous good news:
-2 close friends have had babies in the last month! One more friend is due to have her baby by the end of the summer. Yay babies!
-2 other friends are getting married this month. (Which also happens to be right near our 1 year anniversary. Can't believe we've been married a year! Holy crap.)
-The union has negotiated 4 (yes, FOUR!) increases for all eligible SR employees. One retroactive to November 2013, one in effect in July, another in September and yet another before the end of the year. If this is what they meant by the "regular" increases that they mentioned when they hired me and this happens every year, in less than 2 years I will be making the same amount at ShopRite as I do at my full time job. This is awesome news because my full time job may not be arund for very much longer. While I intend to stay as long as they will/can keep me, most of us know that this is a sinking ship and it is only a matter of time before it bites the dust.
-My amazing, lovely, wonderful best friend has found a gentleman friend who is wonderful to her and I could not be happier. She hasn't had much luck finding someone for a number of reasons and hasn't had a boyfriend in well over 5 years. It's delightful to hear about her new relationship and all of the great things that happen when you truly connect with someone. It's reminding me of how it felt when Nick and I started dating and I really hope that it continues on as successfully as it seems to be going now. They've been seeing each other for about 3 months, but were "officially" a couple as of about 2 weeks ago. We're all going out to wing night tonight and I'll be meeting him for the first time! So excited.
Phew. I think that's it!
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Topic: Blog Thread 4; Live Free or Blog Hard - 'cos we all like blogging (Read 573369 times)