And the heat is on!

Our house has now been on the market for 2 weeks.  After our "viewing" on Friday we waited patiently for feedback which to the dismay of our realtor (and myself) resulted in nothing. 
On Tuesday, a call came in that we would have a "preview".  Supposedly, a realtor would check out the house for a client who was either too busy or out of town and then decided whether it was worth showing the client.  I ran home at lunch and did a super vacuum and mop job.
His feedback wasn't very positive.  Dumb-ass.  LOL!   Actually, nothing surprised me considering we are still working on getting the house ready. 
Tuesday I returned home to a message on the machine saying we had another viewing.  3 in a week!!  SaWeet!  No feed back from view #3 (is that good or bad?) as of this moment.

I did receive a phone call at 11am to say that we had another viewing today.  I'm hoping that with the holiday weekend we will have LOTS of interested buyers and HOPEFULLY good feedback!

This weekend, the painting continues and our new back door gets installed!!!   We also have to replace the doorbell, as it has cracked yet again.    I'm feeling somewhat better about all that is happening.  My sleep pattern has definitely improved!

Saint Jo keep our viewings rolling!  We really are happy with your results thus far!

Insomnia and Our First Viewing!

Through my adulthood I have been plagued with intermittent insomnia.   It rears it's ugly head in times of stress.  I find myself waking up at some hour between 1-4am and then proceed to stare at the ceiling and worry about something that I have no control over at that ungodly hour.

Money has always been my go to worry.  I toss, turn and usually end up doing online banking or reading or what not….I fall asleep a short time before my alarm goes off and then I'm off.   It usually lasts a night or two and then I find myself back into my sleep routine.

Until now….

I have spent the last several weeks tossing and turning.  I will struggle with sleep for several days and then get a decent night in to start the process all over again.  The house, my father's health, money, the end of the school year, work all have been seeping into my nocturnal hours.  

I tried Melatonin for the first time this week and had 2 non-sequential, restful nights.  I am fearful to take meds if I can't go to sleep early enough and with the children having evening activities and such, I have had several late nights.   

After a fairly stressful week which included working 6 days straight and several activities in the evening I came home Friday spent.   I had an evening scheduled to play Bunco with the girls but I just could not muster the energy to go.  

My girlfriends prodded and texted me to PLEASE show up but I begged them off.  I lazed on the bed willing myself to sleep but I appeared just too DAMNED exhausted to pull it off.  

At 7:40pm the phone rang.  Chris looked at me.  "Central showing?" he read from the caller ID.   ANSWER IT!!!!!

Could we have a viewing from 8:15-9:15?  Sure.  

Chaos then ensued…..throwing things together.  Shutting drawers.  Leashing dogs and straightening up the house that seemed to fall apart in the 3 hours after I walked in the door.

I looked a dream in my sweatpants and t-shirt.  We hit Starbucks (not for me) and wandered through Petco with the dogs before heading back in the neighborhood to peek.

What do we see?  A sheriff's deputy parked on a street in the front of the neighborhood.   Nice.  I'm sure our potential buyer found that a positive attribute to the neighborhood.  We drove about for 20 more minutes until we assumed the PB's (potential buyers) were long gone.   

Our neighbors spoke to someone checking out the house.  They appeared interested and were looking forward to peaking at the house.   No information has been forwarded to us.

I finally fell into bed about 10pm.  I woke at 3:45 but was able to manage to get myself back to sleep.

Today I have painted and cleaned and Chris caulked the shit out of the bathroom.  Oh yeah….the cartridge came in the mail yesterday so our shower is fixed too.    :)

Hurry up and wait.

One week has past since our house has gone on the market.  There have been no phone calls, no viewings, no potential buyers. 

Yet, I clean and straighten and fix and clean.....  

Our leaky shower continued to drip, drip, drip....like a Chinese water torture.  I was about to lose my mind when a patient recommended taking a fitting to temporarily plug the shower.  We now are a one shower family.  Silence is golden. 

The realtor stopped by yesterday to check on things.  She was happy with what we have done but still had one or two things for us to work on.  Those things were already on the list but whatever....

The weather has been wet, school is about to be out for the summer.  People are busy.  I hope that is why they don't want to stop in.....

The Sign Goes Up!

Over the last week, we have been in full tilt, preparation mode.  We emptied our closets, rid ourselves of excess furniture.  We covered nail holes and spot painted.  I cleaned and re-cleaned.  
Tuesday, my Northern husband, did the ultimate redneck stump removal technique and lit the stump on fire.  The fire pit was visited and enjoyed by several neighbors and burned well into the next morning.  Now our stump is  a burned out stump, at ground level, but not quite deep enough to be made into a planter.  One or two more times should do the trick, or so I have been told.
Wednesday, I came home to a Pod-less yard.  Chris went into full weed maintenance mode and mowed and weed-eated, so the yard, although not really grass, is still presentable enough for any people taking a view.
After yet another frantic evening of the never ending cleaning, Thursday, Amber the photo lady, showed up at 2:50pm and started snapping pictures and measuring rooms.  
As she was leaving she placed the key-box on the door and said that she would put the sign up in the yard!   10 minutes later the doorbell rang and Amber stated, "I can't get the sign in the yard!"   Oh, the cement we live on.  Did I mention we don't have grass?  After 3 days of rain we can't put a sign into the hardened rock we call our yard.
No worries, Amber!  Chris will fix it up when he gets home.  As she drove into the overcast horizon, I dug the hammer and screw driver out of the CLEAN garage and started pounding holes into the ground.  GOD ALMIGHTY, I WILL GET THAT SIGN INTO THE GROUND!!!!!   
I did finally get the sign to at least stand slightly upright and when Chris arrived home he was able to finish it properly.  And here it stands!

Knowing very well that Saint Joseph would not be able to be put into the ground near the sign….I wasn't digging THAT hole, I placed him under a bush near the house, head down, face out.  I recited my little prayer and hoped that my heathen self would not be ignored.   
Chris is convinced a non-neighbor slowed down in front of the house to SEE!  I think he's high.  I mean, we live in a neighborhood with only one way in and out.  No one wanders aimlessly through.  
Chris and I came up with a pretty reasonable way to keep the dogs cordoned out of the main house but still are able to go outside.   AND, after cleaning, yet again, we left the house this morning and waited.
BTW: We did have the house put on the market for a bit more than we originally planned.  I don't think our realtor is happy about that but it's easier to drop the price than to raise it.
At 3:30pm I checked the MLS.  YAY!!!  It's there!  The pictures look good and I am an official seller.  
So…..do you want to buy a house?

So Much To Do, So Little Time

Well, we are in the last week of prep work before the house goes on the market.  The closets are purged, the bathrooms are scrubbed and the walls are prepped for a coat of paint.  

Chris and I had second thoughts over the price.  We made the bold move to increase our asking price.  You can always drop the price but you will never be able to ask for more after its been on the market.  I don't know if our realtor is happy about this but with that being said….the worst that can happen is that we drop it later.  

My mother-in-law is here to help a bit which adds to a little of my stress.  She fixates on things like painting a temporary step and yet thinks we shouldn't worry about the fat that the walls are dinged in my bedroom and could use a coat of paint.  

She walked in and went off on me over a curtain we hung to cover our laundry area.  Yet the monster stains on my carpet are trivial.

I assisted my husband in the last bit of power washing that needed to be done to our deck.   It felt good to get my aggression out on the grime.

My Mother's Day has been spent cleaning and reading.  Yelling at my daughter to "PLEASE CLEAN YOUR ROOM!"

The pod should leave in a day or two.  Friday the pictures are taken and Monday a sign goes up.  Fingers crossed that I don't lose my mind before that day happens.  

It's a Brand New Day.

After several days to absorb, I am putting things into perspective.  I have searched for the silver lining, a hard task to do when you are overwhelmed, and have considered that my gain will be to find a house that may never have been in my price range in the past.   Those sellers are possibly in the same boat as me.

Chris has been hard at work keeping positive and making a plan.   He has started getting things together and made a tentative schedule.  He tends to go into projects like the white tornado and I in turn tell him to stop and wait and reconsider.  Have I ever mentioned the computer/doorstop story?

I have had an incredibly busy week at work and put in my 6th day to come home to this….

The children think it's cool.  "Did you go and stand in it, Mommy?" was my 10 year old's statement.

So my job today is to start the unloading of the house in preparation for staging.  

Saint Joseph still sits on my dresser.  I am still considering where to put him.   The sign shows up on May 13th.  Friday, May 13th.  I'm hoping my luck turns around…..