A letter.

Dear students,

Thank you for your curiosity and for asking questions that truly challenge me.  Thank you for waving to me across the hallway during class change.  Thank you for your hand-made cards and letters.  Thank you for sharing who you are with me--in Spanish!.  Thank you for testing the limits because it's my job to help teach you what they are.  Thank you for laughing at my jokes (that often flop).  Thank you for laughing at other funny things that I (as the responsible adult) am not supposed to laugh at but are truly funny.  Thank you for appreciating the work I put into help you learn even if you don't directly say it.  Thank you for your energy.  Thank you for always wanting to help pass back papers and erase the board.  Thank you for making mistakes that help me grow as a person to teach you how to "do good" because I'm not perfect, either.  Thank you for your positivity.  Thank you for your honesty and frankness.  Thank you for teaching me as much as I teach you.

With love,
Mrs. S

HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!!!

Our appraisal came back today...$33,000 over what we paid!  We're so happy!!!!!! Comps in the neighborhood sold for around $220, so we made out with a steal.  Yay for deals.

Craigslist

I adore Craigslist.  Saturday afternoon while working in my thesis (and taking one of my many necessary breaks), I happened to be browsing it looking for moving boxes and other home decor at a discount.  I then came across a gem of a breakfast-nook table: dark espresso finish, pretty design, perfect size, and a great price.

I was geeked.  I love tables.  I love cheap tables.  And we need one.  Our family unit conversation pretty much unfolded as such:

However, after Charlie carefully considered the "happy life happy wife rule"..and knew it was important to me...

 ...we went to pick it up.. and after all we need a place to eat in the kitchen!  So we borrowed a truck from a friend and headed up to Huntersville.  Ed and his wife were selling it, and they helped us load it into the truck.  What made the pot even sweeter?  They had just moved from the same area we live in now, so they had a garage full of moving boxes and they gave them all to us!!!  This made Charlie also very happy.

We arrived home and promptly fed Luna.  And now our home is filled with boxes galore and another table.  Yay deals!

Here's the exact table we snagged, too.   (They told us where they bought it so I found it online).  We saved almost $500 through Craigslist.  Score!

Lowe's!

Charlie and I have been spending a fair amount of time at Lowe's lately. We don't even officially own a home yet, but Black Friday had us calling and besides, we like to walk up and down the aisles pricing everything to see what we are in for in a couple of weeks.  Rake $14.95, Spackle $3.95, Fan for the master $89.99...stopping to take your picture on a toilet, priceless. 

Okay, so a little awkward.  But where else would you find a "Kathryn suite"?  I think I almost made a lady pee her pants when she saw us take this picture!  It was a busy Saturday, so I'm pretty sure I had some guts! ;)

In all seriousness, we were in there scoring a deal.  So, without further ado, our kitchen lovelies to be delivered in a few weeks.

We'll start off with the microwave... We originally wanted a microwave over the oven, but it wouldn't fit with the cabinets, and when this $100 MW went on sale for $69 we scooped it up!  I don't know about you, but I seriously cannot live in a home without a MW.  I use it every day.  And you better believe frozen meals will be a staple the first few days.  Lowe's is working with us and delivering it for us, too, even though it's normally something you buy in store and take home that day.  Yay for one less thing to lug around.

And this is my favorite of all purchases...our fridge.  Swoon.  Thanks to Black Friday this fridge was originally $2,249 and well out of our league, but we scored it for about $1,500.  Back before I knew anything about home-buying, I always thought homes came with a fridge and all the appliances, but I guess that isn't standard, but we are so lucky to have found this baby.  Plenty of room for bulk shopping, too with all my couponing.   

In other news we have been keeping busy.  My thesis is almost...dare I say it?...DONE!  I have the conclusion and one section to write about globalization and Epals.  And I'm through!!!  Well, the editing will take time, but the big chuck of the the writing is done.  I feel so accomplished.

We went to a Holiday party last night with some friends and played Taboo... such a fun game, and one I happen to be very good at (and quite competitive at!).  LOL.  I lost on "robbery"...how do you describe "robbery" if you can't say bank, steal, money, take, or police???

Christmas "within"

This year Charlie and I aren't decorating for Christmas.  (Collective gasp for those who know me, I know).  But it is no lie: we have not a single bulb or garland to be found in the entire apartment....

Don't get me wrong.  We could have decorated.  We could have opened the tree, the ornaments, the whole shebang, but considering we are moving at the beginning of January, frankly it just didn't make sense.  We are going to be packing and unpacking boxes so much that we may so much as never want or see another box again.... it seemed like the smart thing to do.

For me this is a huge deal, though.  See, I am a huge traditionalist.  Every year, "Santa" brings Christmas to town in the Detroit Thanksgiving day parade, thus making Christmas music "legal" to play (I will kindly plug my ears and exit the room if you play it before this day).  I love the advent calendar, and the decorating of the tree with hand-crafted childhood ornaments, and the hanging of the garland, and mistletoe, and so on and so forth.

It's not necessary at all: Christmas is about Jesus and family and has nothing to do with decorations and "stuff," but they sure help the holiday feel so merry.  So, I'm choosing to look at our lack of Christmas decor as a way of celebrating from "within", a-la John 3:16-- For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.

Today this is our garland and decor!  Happy time of Christmas cheer from the Snearly's undecorated home, bursting with joy and thanksgiving :)

Whirlwind trip!

We went to Michigan this Thanksgiving...the day we found out we were under contract on our first home, we left the state.  Here has been our last couple of days.  They were great.  Family filled.  Fun.  Entertaining... but I am not going to lie, we aren't in any rush to relive how hectic they were.  I feel like I am going to collapse... in the good, satisfied kind of way :]

Tuesday: Work all day, complete leg one of the trip and stay in a hotel West Virginia, dog cries all night because people are walking by the door.
Wednesday:  Drive the rest of the way to MI.  Visited Susanna, Chris and baby Sam upon arrival.  Went bowling with Charlie's family.

Thursday:  Thanksgiving.  Walking in the park with my sister and cousin in law during the morning.  Thanksgiving with entire family + mom and brother.

Me, Laura, and Jenny!

Friday: Haircut, 10:30 am, drive 3 hours to Grand Rapids.  Rehearsal dinner for Nick and Annie.

Saturday:  Thesis all morning.  Nick and Annie's wedding and reception...arrived home at 12:00 am.
Sunday:  Brunch at Nick and Annie's parent, drive 3 hours back to Northville.  Buy super discounted appliances at Lowe's.  Visit Grandma and Grandpa.  Dinner with mom.  Dexter with the Snearly's.
Monday:  Wake up at 6:45, drive to NC, arrive at 7:30 pm.
Tuesday:  Teach!?!?!??!

AHHHHHHHH!  Crazy times, good times.  We are very blessed!

Our Casa

I always wondered where our first place would be.  Charlie and I would always say: "Somewhere, right now, our perfect house is out their waiting.  It just doesn't know yet, and neither do we."

 Turns out, that perfect house was built in 1986.  The year after were born.  :)  How cute.  It waited almost 25 years for us.

 So without further ado...the story of la Casa.  We are under contract to be proud home owners.

 It all began in a time long ago...

Charlie and I began seriously house hunting--em--like 2.5 weeks ago.  Hehe.  Actually, we have been looking and researching for several years, but never officially started the process of "Okay, now it it time."  When we did, we figured it would take us months to find a great place.  I am picky and so is Char.  We wanted a yard with lots of privacy, tall trees, a mature neighborhood, but not old, in a great, convenient location, close to work, close to uptown, near good schools, 4 bedrooms + a bonus room, lots of storage, walk-in closets, a fence, hardwood floors, crown molding, an updated kitchen, stainless steel appliances, etc. etc.... all for under $200,000.  With a list like that I got a lot of polite "fat chance" remarks... but didn't let it stop us. 

But I figured we would start our search early.  We could take our time getting approved, see what we could really afford and go from there.  We had a plan... a month-to-month, week-to-week plan.  But life is what happens when you are busy making plans, right?

We looked at houses and our goal was to spend under $190,000.  Unfortunately, what $190,000 buys you where we were looking was a 3 bedroom house and backyard with a highway view.  Or, a really run-down, fixer-upper.  Could we get approved for a more expensive home?  Yes.  Do we want to be house poor?  Absolutely, positively NOT!!!  So, $190,000 quickly became our ceiling. 

The other houses we liked with all the upgrades and the location were at least $250,000.  Double yuck. 

Then, on thenest.com...I happened to be browsing and came across the now dubbed "La Casa"  It was cute, updated interior, and FABULOUS LOCATION.  5 short minutes from downtown Matthews, around the corner from Harris Teeter and a Target.  Wooded lots, tall tress, immaculate yards, beautiful homes...and this little guy listed for $184,900.

WHAT!?!?!?

Charlie and I drove out there at 8:00 pm on a Sunday, the day I saw it online, in pitch black darkness, to walk around the neighborhood.  (Yes, we are mildly crazy).  We feel in love with the yard, and without even seeing the inside, I said to Char, "this is the one."

 So, the next day while I was at work, he went to see the house.  And here she is!!!  (Sorry there aren't many photos...these were the listing photos!)

 That day after school, we made the offer.  Charlie called work directly, which he never does, and I ran up to the office to here him say, "Kathryn, you've got to see this place."  Immediately following a long day of teaching, I made it so.

Here's what we saw....

• Hardwoods throughout the kitchen and downstairs
• Lots of light
• Crown molding
• Fresh paint

• almost .4 acres
• A wooded lot
• A completely fenced backyard

• 4 bedrooms
• A bonus room
• A den with a fireplace and built-ins!

• A GREAT LOCATION...5 minutes from downtown Matthews, around the corner from a Target.  YUS!
• Mature neighborhood
• Tons of storage and a walk-in attic
• Walk-in closets in the master
• Huge closets in other bathrooms
• A great deck with French doors leading out

Too good to be true, right?  This home was originally listed on the market at $220,00 or so in May.  The market was down, the sellers moved, and it sat and sat.  They dropped their price to $198,000, then to $189,00, then to $184,500...and 3 days after the last price drop, we saw it.  We put in an offer at $177,000 that day because we couldn't pass it up.

But, so did another family.  BIDDING WAR!

 This was crazy.  We had to list our highest offer without knowing what the other people were bidding.  After agonizing contemplation, we came in at $182,000.  If we had to walk, we would.

And, about 6 agonizing hours later...

we got her!  It was meant to be!!!  The price is amazing, especially compared to the comps in the neighborhood, and we are geeked.

 We can't wait to move in, make it home, and make it ours.  There are a few things we want to change, but at the price we got it at, they are in our budget to fix over time.

 Here are some of the cons...

• There is one sink in the master bath
• The master does not have a separate bath and shower (but does have a jacuzzi style tub with a shower)
• The appliances are older, and we need a fridge... so we are updating these when we move in!  The rest of the kitchen is great, though!

• The laundry room is HUGE with tons of storage, but not connected to central air.  It has a mini-heater.

So, that's the story  :)  More to come... more pictures, more projects, as we transform our baby...who happens to be as old as we are.  I'm sure it will slowly take over the blog.  Yay house!