July Life Update

I'm well overdue for another gluten free post, but there are so many other things to talk about, so I'm going to do a combo post—a life update, if you will. Hopefully the pictures will keep it interesting!

Cats

I celebrated two years with my cats at the beginning of July. When I got Isis, Hammond, and Skaara, I simply hoped they'd stay around for a few months—I didn't dare to hope I'd have them for years! Here are the before and after pictures I posted on Facebook.

Hammond & Skaara

35 before 35: #17

#17: Get a house cat

After going nearly two years without being able to cross one of my 35 before 35 off the list, I accomplished two in two days: buy a house and get a house cat. Well, technically, I got three house cats.

In July of last year, I got three cats: Isis, Hammond, and Skaara. Per my lease, they had to live outside. When I decided to buy a house, one of the things I was most excited about was the prospect of having my cats in the house. They almost didn't all make it, though ...

The night before I moved, I came home from my parents' house and saw Isis lying by the door. Initially, I was thrilled to see her. For the last few weeks, she had been spending only minimal time at home, and I was afraid she'd be off on one of her adventures when it was time to move. But she didn't get up to greet me, which I found odd, and when I got closer, I saw a pool of blood beside her. I called my mom, who came right away, and we tried to determine where the blood was coming from. We couldn't find it, and the bleeding seemed to have stopped, but she was very lethargic.

A few minutes later, she was bleeding again. By this time, it was after 8 p.m. on Friday night, and I didn't know what to do. We ended up cutting up one of my old sleep shirts to make bandages of sorts—we wrapped the strips around her middle (we still weren't sure where the blood was coming from) and tied them. Each time I checked on her, there was more blood, and she seemed more out of it. Her ears, nose, and paw pads were also getting cold.

I spent a lot of time with her that night, though I didn't know what to do for her other than lightly stroke her back. When I went to bed, I told her goodbye—I truly believed she would be dead by morning.

The morning of the move, I got up early, and the first thing I did was check on Isis. She was still breathing, though she didn't even lift her head when I approached. She had unwound the makeshift bandages in the night, and she was no longer bleeding. Blendy helped me move the other cats (Hammond, Skaara, and Sam the stray—a cat who had adopted us) to the new house. Then when my mom came over, she helped me move Isis. We put all the cats into the spare bedroom while we moved my things. Throughout the day, people would go check on the cats ... and each time someone went in, Isis seemed a little stronger! By that evening, she was moving around and even eating a little. And by the next day, you couldn't even tell she'd been at death's door!

The crazy thing is that Isis's brush with death seemed to give her a new personality. Before, she didn't like me very much and hardly ever let me pet her. Now, one of her favorite things is to perch on my side when I'm laying on the couch. She also makes it her personal mission to make everyone who walks through my door like her. It's bizarre.

It's been a month now, and everyone is healthy and happy. Well, everyone except Sam the stray. I never intended for her to be a house cat, so I put her outside (in the fenced-in backyard) after a couple days. She disappeared almost immediately, and she's been spotted at my old house. But Isis, Skaara, and Hammond? They couldn't be happier. And neither could I.

This is, without a doubt, their favorite place to be. Hammond, Skaara, and Isis.

Hammond and Skaara. These brothers love each other!

Now that Isis has decided she likes loves people, she has decided that people should love her equally. Whether you're a cat person or not, she will do her darndest to make you like her. This often involves trying to rub her face against yours. 

Sometimes, glimpses of the old feisty Isis do emerge. In this photo, she's attacking the pins that hold the shelf in place. Shortly after I took this photo, she knocked over a glass candleholder, which shattered all over the floor. Needless to say, all the breakables have been removed from the bookshelves!

So here's our best guess of what happened to Isis. I had some evil neighbor boys—and I do mean evil. They had threatened to kill my cats in the past (while screaming obscenities at me) ... and they can't be more than 10 years old! On moving day, when Mom and I were describing Isis's wound, my uncles said it sounded like she'd been shot with a pellet gun. We later found a scab on her left side. And then we felt a bump on her right side—a bump that feels suspiciously like a pellet. The prime suspects are those boys. I'm very thankful that we never have to see them again!

35 before 35: #15

#15: Buy a house

I've already written quite a bit about buying a house (here and here), so basically what's left is to show you the pictures! I moved in one week ago with the help of my parents, Blendy, two uncles, an aunt, and a cousin. They were an absolutely amazing moving crew; we started at 8 a.m., and by 4:30 p.m., I was all moved in, and my old house was completely cleaned.

Most people who post pictures of their new houses either post before the move-in or after all their stuff is put away. I moved the day after closing, and I didn't think to take any pictures before the move. With school beginning this week, it may be a while before I have everything put away and organized. So here's my house ... in all its messy glory!

The house from the front. You can't tell because of the angle on the photo, but the house faces the street corner. I've always liked things that were slightly askew!

The living room from the front door. What you can't tell is the ceiling is slanted, which makes the room seem HUGE. I love it!

The living room facing the front door.

The kitchen from the living room.

The kitchen from the family room.

My bedroom.

The family room. This used to be a garage that the former owners converted. It will eventually be where the cats live, but for now, it's storage.

The bathroom.

The spare bedroom. This is the only room that needs work—I'm going to paint it! For now, this is where the cats live when I'm gone.

The back yard. I love that it's completely fenced in. And the shed is pretty nice.

And there you have it—my house! I'm so excited to have it!

it wasn't supposed to be like this

When I was a kid, I learned my parents were 24 when they got married. That sounded positively ancient. Surely I'd get married much sooner than that!

I am currently mere days away from my 32nd birthday. And I'm still single.

I had always imagined that by this point in my life, I'd have a husband, two or three kids, and be a stay-at-home mom. For whatever reason, God has put me on a different path. Most of the time, I'm okay with this—I'm actually glad I didn't marry young, as I've done a lot of growing up in the 14 years since I graduated from high school. I enjoy the freedom I have as a single woman; I don't really have to consider anyone else when deciding on purchases, entertainment, meals, or travel. I can do whatever I want on the weekend. I only have to worry about getting myself ready in the morning, so I can sleep until the last possible second.

Overall, my life is good.

Tomorrow, I'll sign the documents to officially purchase my first house. I've heard that moving is one of the five most stressful things in life, and I've never before believed it, but I sure do now! There is so much more stress involved with finding and purchasing a house than there is with renting. And don't even get me started on the loan approval process! (It's enough to give someone a heart condition. No kidding.)

And I wish I had someone to walk by my side, helping me make decisions and sharing the stress.

My parents have been fantastic, checking out houses and going furniture shopping with me, giving advice when I ask for it, and helping me pack. My loan officer has been incredibly patient, reassuring me when the approval process took longer than I thought it should and answering all of my "I have no idea what I'm doing!" questions. My friends have been behind me, cheering me on and praying for wisdom and sanity. My sister Steph has been a great sounding board, always bringing me back to reality. (Also, she mowed my lawn for me tonight so I wouldn't have to take a break from packing to do it. She's pretty awesome.)

But, as wonderful as these people are, they aren't "in it" with me. 

So I want to take a moment to acknowledge something that I usually don't: singleness is hard. It's not my ideal life, but it is my current life. And while journeying through life without a partner is difficult, I shouldn't use it as an excuse for letting my life stagnate.

That's why I took an accounting class this summer (and learned I most certainly should not become an accountant).

That's why I joined a book club through my church, even though meeting new people is difficult for me.

And that's why I'm buying a house.

buying a house

About six years ago, my aunt told me I should buy a house. She said it was a good investment and I was at a point in my life where I should be thinking about such things.

I ignored her completely.

To be honest, I really never considered buying a house before because it seemed like to do so would be admitting defeat. Admitting that I truly might never get married. Admitting that I might stay in Central City for the rest of my life.

But here's the thing: I like living in Central City. I enjoy my job. Yeah, it took me awhile to get to this point, but in recent years, any time I've thought about moving away, it's because someone else suggested that I should—really, I'm very happy here. And it's time I embraced that. Besides, buying a house somewhere doesn't mean you'll live there forever.

As for the singleness issue, I'm well aware that I may have said sayonara to my one chance at marriage last year. But maybe I didn't. Maybe the man who will make me feel what Abbie feels when she sees Nate is still out there. Why would I think that my buying a house would prevent him from showing up? That's just ludicrous.

So I'm taking the plunge. I'm buying a house. And now that I'm doing it, all my previous hesitations seem completely ridiculous.

It's really amazing how it has all worked out, and I'm still a little bewildered by it all. God definitely orchestrated this. As one of my Bible study friends said last night, isn't it crazy that, while I had no clue, God knew that during this week, while I was crazy-busy with VBS, He would bring me a house?

Here's how it happened: A little less than a month ago, a coworker asked me if I was interested in buying a house. She and her husband had purchased a house in Central City for her and their girls to live in while they attended Nebraska Christian. The girls graduated this year, so they are looking to sell the house. I went to check it out, and I liked it, but I didn't love it. But looking at that house made me realize that I really did want to own a home, so I kept looking.

I looked at a second house two weeks later. This one looked amazing on paper, but the basement was a complete deal breaker. It reminded me of my great-grandparents' basement. It was damp, it smelled musty, and it just looked ... unpleasant. I liked the upstairs, loved the backyard, and hated the basement.

After that, I wasn't sure where to look. I thought about checking out the first house again. And then one day last week, my dad told me I should look at a house that he had just noticed. I looked it up online on Thursday and decided it had definite potential. Friday afternoon, I called the realtor, and he said I could look at it Friday evening. I took Blendy and Dad with me, and we all liked it. Well, Blendy and Dad liked it; I fell in love the instant I stepped inside! I looked at the house again on Monday, this time taking my mom along as well. As we walked through the house, I couldn't help but talk about how my things would fit into the house. I spoke with a loan officer from a local bank on Tuesday afternoon and then made an official offer on the house. Tuesday night, I dreamed that the sellers decided they didn't like me and wouldn't sell it to me no matter how much I offered. (This was such a realistic dream that I woke up believing I'd lost the house.) On Wednesday morning, I learned my offer had been accepted! Now the only thing left is to get the loan ... so I spent a couple hours yesterday filling out the application and a couple hours today locating all the documents the loan officer requested.

This house is perfect for me! Two bedrooms, one bathroom (recently remodeled), remodeled kitchen, living room, family room, fenced in backyard. The only thing I don't love about it is the lack of a garage—the garage was converted into the family room. I'm very excited to have a dishwasher again, and I'm looking forward to letting my cats be in the house.

And I will be especially happy to say goodbye to the dog next door, who recently did this to my welcome mat:

Is it okay to say you hate an animal? 'Cause I certainly don't have any positive feelings for that dog!

No pictures yet, but I promise to post some after I get moved in. It's looking like we'll close in early August.

my new place

This post is long overdue ...

In late July, I learned of an opportunity to move out of the apartment I'd lived in for the last four years and into a (rather large) house. The house belongs to an elderly woman who, when she lived in Central City, attended the church I grew up in. This woman and her children had decided it was time to sell the house, and they wanted to know if I would be interested in living in it while it's on the market. I would pay utilities and a minuscule amount of rent. After crunching the numbers and realizing I would save money by moving, I agreed.

I've now been living in the house for just over a month. I love it! I've already written about some of the things I enjoy--my two favorite aspects are the kitchen (it's amazing to cook in!) and the washer/dryer. After four years of using my apartment building's creepy laundry facilities or taking advantage of my parents' generosity and using theirs, I'm thrilled to be able to do laundry whenever I want. I'm sure once winter rolls around, the garage will become a lot more important, too!

There are a couple drawbacks to the house, of course. I absolutely hate mowing the lawn, and this lawn is massive. I have to keep the house clean because it could be shown at any time. Once the house sells, I'll have to find a new place to live. I really hope it doesn't sell during the winter--it would be horrible to move in sub-zero temperatures!

Now, on to the pictures! (The house also has two more bedrooms and a bathroom that I didn't take pictures of because they're empty. This house is enormous!)

The spare bedroom.

The half bath.

My bathroom.

A view of the whole kitchen workspace.

The oven area. (It's a gas stove--I'm so excited to not have electric!)

Built-in desk.

The living room.

The dining room.

The entryway (part of the dining room).

My front door.

My bedroom.

My bedroom. (Someday I'll buy an adult-looking bedroom set and my room will no longer be confused with a 13-year-old girl's!)

The sunroom/exercise room.

My massive lawn. The property extends to the fence in the back!

The garage.