The house...

Well for those of you that haven't heard yet...I bought a house this week! I haven't been back yet to take any pictures but here is the MLS listing picture of the house...I have the home inspection today so hopefully I will get some pictures then :)

All windows on the front are bedrooms, except for the bottom right which is the living room.
The entire subdivision has alley access garages...so the garage is directly behind the house (attached).
The yard is all in already, with trees, shrubs and then the wing fencing you can see. There is a very little back patio...with very little grass in the back (which I'm thankful for, since I've never mowed a lawn before)...anyone that knows me can attest to the fact that growing things is not my strongpoint. The less yard I have to keep alive, the better!
It is 1538 sq. ft. 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath...with all the living area downstairs (and half bath off the living room) and 3 bedrooms upstairs.
The 4th bedroom is downstairs, but will probably be used as an office/den rather then bedroom.
It is off Meridian Rd. between Ustick & McMillan and exactly 8 minutes from my office! :) Which I am pretty excited about! I won't close until March 5th...as I am not in a hurry to get out of Nampa. But am really looking forward to painting!!

The 25...

This has been going around facebook, so thought I'd add mine to the blog :)

25 random things about me....
1. I was the tallest girl in my 5th grade class...and now am shorter than everyone I know! Well that is everyone over like 12.

2. The only bone I've ever broken is my collar bone. I was one years old and fell off a bench at McDonald's. The doctor had to fashion me a sling, because they didn't make them that small.

3. I'm not very sympathetic. I'm just not. Don't really know what to do in those situations. We all make our own choices...we have to live with the consequences. Deal.

4. I just bought my first house. It is in Meridian, 4 bed 2.5 bath, built in 2009. I made an offer. They countered, I countered, they countered, I countered and they accepted :) (I will post pics soon!)

5. I pronounce Reeses, Reesees and get crap from Jessie for it all the time!

6. I had hernia surgery when I was 18 and have never experienced so much pain in my life. Word of advice: don't stop taking vicadin before the doctor tells you to!

7. I am VERY black and white. There is very little room for grey in my life.

8. I graduated with my BS when I was 20, and my MBA at 22.

9. My mom dropped me on the garage floor when I was a few months old. The doctors told her I was fine, and I've had headaches almost every day since!

10. I have EXTREMELY small hands, seriously. I babysat a 6 yr old girl with bigger hands than me. I've had friends suggest using miracle grow...it doesn't work.

11. I like to be alone. If I don't get any time to myself every couple days I become very cranky!

12. I hate wasted time. I won't waste my time on something I don't see lasting. Unfortunately, that also includes people. I just don't have the patience. (Yes, I know my lack of patience should be its own line...but I refuse!)

13. I won't do something just to appease others. If I don't want to, I won't. Definitely NOT a people pleaser. Although I hate conflict...hmm...just realized those kind of contradict themselves...

14. I used to cut the grass at my parents house with scissors. I still to this day have never mowed a lawn! Guess that will be changing soon...due to #4

15. I took piano lessons for 7 years, I can read music but have a terrible ear for it.

16. I worked an entire summer in a fruit packing shed. I started out sorting cherries (torture!) but thankfully was quickly moved to running machinery. Yup, that's right, I was the only one that could fix the label machine :)

17. Growing up I always slept on the top bunk and fought with my sister all the time. Then one summer when we were in Mexico my parents added a bedroom in our basement for her and suddenly we became friends!

18. The men in my family are amazing. Seriously. My dad and brother are two of the highest quality people you will ever meet. I promise, I'm not just biased. It's true :)

19. Until I was 18 I had only lived in one house, since then I have moved 5 times.

20. I've never had cable. Don't know that I ever will.

21. I am frugal. I hate spending $$ on pointless things...or things that won't last. Especially food!!

22. There's this place, Aut-to Mocha, that I would move to my neighborhood if I could. It's in Wenatchee and I go at least once a day when I'm there. And I make everyone that comes to visit Wenatchee with me try a frapita.

23. I hate the name Shelly. Whoever thought it was a good idea to shorten Michelle to Shelly is dumb. If for some reason you can't bring yourself to say Michelle then michi, meesh or michka will all do. But don't even think about calling me shelly!

24. I can read a 200 page book in about two hours. I love to read!

25. I know every episode of FRIENDS by heart. And no, that is not sad :)

Free time!

So I have found something to occupy all that ‘extra’ time I have now :) I’m not so sure my muscles are liking me at the moment, but I am definitely enjoying myself! I have worked out at least once a day all week, and twice 3 of the days! But it has been awesome, because I am not one that likes to just hit the treadmill…that drives me crazy! I can’t do it for longer then 20 minutes, I just can’t. But Steph & Jess have been going to classes at the Rec Center since last semester…but they have always been Monday & Wednesday, and I could never go because of class! Well not anymore! :) So Monday and Friday at 4:30 is Jazzercise, which I thought I would have a hard time getting to ontime, but so far its been okay. I guess they start a few minutes late for that reason so I haven’t been horribly late, yet! And then Wednesday evening and Saturday morning is Zumba, which is a new latin/hip hop/reggae class. Very entertaining! And fun to do :) And although I HATE treadmills or anything in that general area, I love lifting weights…so I’ve been doing that Tuesday and Thursday. But then this week also began the long awaited games of racquet ball! Saturday Erika, Jess & I all went to James and we played doubles. Kevin & James have a court in their apt. clubhouse, so its very convenient! It was so fun, and definitely hilarious but it was the first time Jess & I had played (or at least played by the rules) so it was mainly just trying to figure that out. But then Monday night and last night Jess & I went back over and with just the three of us played cut throat, giving Jessie & I a lot more playing time, and opportunity to figure out what we’re doing! James kind of just stood at the back wall and offered some coaching advice for most of the evening :) Probably not very fun for him, but very nice nonetheless! Gave us a chance to really get a feel for it, and of course chase the ball a lot! But I feel a lot better after that, at least kind of have a start on the mental part of the game and reading the ball, plus got the serving and such down. Definitely a fun way to work out!! Of course the driving to Boise to play at 9pm doesn’t help with the whole sleep schedule…oops. But I don’t seem to be tired when we’re playing that late, just the next morning when the alarm goes off 5 hours after we got home! I’ve had to wear my glasses to work for the first hour both days, because my contacts have to be in the peroxide for at least 6 hours in order to neutralize and they haven’t had that much time!

Pontiac Torrent

So it's official! I now own a 2007 Pontiac Torrent! I love my car...still, after almost 2 years, feel like its brand new. Every time I get in it, it just makes me happy. I love driving it...pretty much, yup, love everything about it! And after writing out that final, monumental check to pay it off a few weeks ago, I received the title in the mail Monday night! It's all mine! Free and clear! Love it! It's so exciting! (For me anyway :))

Moody Moody Moody

I don't know what my problem is, but I am definitely moody. I am VERY frustrated and snappy at work lately, I don't want to talk to anyone or be forced to listen to one more person complain about work or someone else in the office. (Yes I know they drive me crazy too...I'm just sick of hearing about it!) I constantly just want to go home and cry. I go back and forth between wanting to be by myself and wanting to be with my friends. Which I guess is good, because if I was truly in a bad mood there would be no getting me out of my room. I definitely need to be alone in order to reenergize and be ready to face the next day. And lately it doesn't seem to take much to make me need that extra time by myself. I miss my family...I just want to go home to mom and dad! Ahh, all I want to do lately is cry. At least it doesn't seem to happen except when I'm alone. But maybe its just because when there are other people around I'm more focused on what they're doing to annoy me then on how much I want to crawl into a hole. Not exactly a good thing. The main problem right now, is I'm not really sure what to do about it. I don't want to say anything that hurts anyone just because I'm in a bad mood but I don't know how much longer I can control my tongue! haha. I am typically more quiet then one to open my mouth, but that doesn't mean I don't also cut people with my snappy mouth. I guess all I have to say is pray for me!

Living the Life...?

There's this overwhelming piece of my mind that wants to continue working towards something. I don't know what to do with this new feeling of "being finished". I enjoy school, enjoy a challenge, enjoy the familiarity of school. I (surprisingly enough) like homework. I like juggling my life. I feel much more productive when I'm working on lots of things at the same time. And I think I accomplish more when I have less time to complete more things. Since I finished school I don't feel like I've accomplished anything and don't really feel like I have any more free time then I used to. Instead, because I have nothing that HAS to be done, by a certain time, it seems as though I am less likely to get anything done. I have spent the last 17 years of my life working towards my future, working towards this "great" feeling of being done. Except now that I'm here I don't know what to do. Where do I go from here? What's next?
Graduate high school....check
Go to college....check
Pick a major....check
Graduate with honors...check
Get a masters degree....check
Get a job....check
Enter the real world....?!?!

I'm here. I'm done. Yet, I feel like I've been in the real world for a years. I've been earning money and paying my own bills since high school. I've done both school and work at the same time. I've juggled priorities. I've kept friendships and worked at making those life long relationships...while still managing to work 40 hours a week, attend every class, turn in every assignment on time, maintain a 3.8 GPA, develop and keep a budget, paid off my undergrad, paid off my car, stayed away from credit card debt....can I go on?! I don't know where I go from here? I've been living in the "real world" for years. I've just been doing it while simultaneously enjoying college life.

Perhaps it will get better now that christmas break is over and my friends are back in town---but thus far, I must say....I miss school. I miss the schedule, I miss my cohort, I miss the people I got to spend 8 hours a week with, I miss writing papers, I miss solving problems, I miss the chaos, I miss my professors...I miss NNU.

2009

Well I'm not much for Resolutions...but I do try and make a goal list every once and awhile. I figure this is the perfect time for a new one :) I am no longer in school, no longer looking for a new job and of course beginning a new year, along with the rest of the world :) In 2009 I would like to accomplish...

Professionally:
Take (and pass) the CMA exam
Develop a new idea for work
Draw three house plans
Get AutoCAD
Take another AutoCAD class
Financially:
Pay off my Masters (Undergrad was paid off last year!)
Buy a house
Double my savings account
Personally:
Lose ten pounds
Start a devotional...and continue it!
Begin a daily exercise routine
Volunteer at church - youth group & nursery
Visit Kieth, Jackie & Holly often
Get scrapbooking caught up