When I was in college, one of the things i would do when I was depressed or really really stressed out or whatever is buy some cookie dough and chow down. (Seriously. I even converted one of my friends to doing the same thing.) It's actually rare that cake batter or cookie dough ever actually makes it to the oven to be baked, as a matter of fact. :)
So the weekend before the layoffs at work, I was actually feeling really anxious about the house. I knew it was in great condition, seemed well built, and I had done a good job negotiating the price...but I was stilll concerned about all the startup expenses--the utilities, buying things like lawnmowers and such...Was I really ready for this? So I was talking it out with my mom, and she suggested getting some cookie dough and making a few cookies (ah yes, see where I get the emotional eating from??)...so I drove up to HEB and picked up a couple tubes of cookie dough. Pillsbury peanut butter (no nuts!) and Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip.
So over the weekend I'm noshing on cookie dough, and occasionally baking a handful of cookies...and Monday after the layoffs I continued, and ended up snacking in the evenings all week...when to my surprise my mom emails me to ask if I'd thrown out the cookie dough. What?!?! Apparently there was a voluntary recall on the Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough tubes, and they were asking consumers to return them for a refund. Nice.
I looked into it...seems there have been some cases of E. coli (probably mostly in the northern states...they always seem to have rashes of food poisoning up north!) and Nestle decided to go ahead and recall the suspect products. One of which I happened to have in my possession, and which happened to be at least half gone by this time.
Fortunately I never felt any ill effects from eating it--my system is probably too strong (from DECADES of eating raw cookie dough!) to be overtaken by a little E. coli. :) Or something. :) Though I did make sure to tell my friend Adriana about the recall Saturday night at dinner...she's always grossed out when I tell her I eat cookie dough raw, and is always warning me that I may get sick from it.
No illness yet....I think I finished off the cookie dough that Sunday. ;) YUMMMMmmm...sure was good! :)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sigh....
I just can't think of anything to write. And the sad thing is, I thought of something really funny and cool to write about earlier tonight...and now I can't for the life of me remember what it was!! Dammit! Damn this hot weather! (because that is what I am totally blaming for the memory loss and writer's block!)
Ah well. Just listening to my "dance around the house" music and relaxing. Happy times. Survived a Monday, which is always good :) On to the next day and surviving the rest of the week!
~A.Mo
Ah well. Just listening to my "dance around the house" music and relaxing. Happy times. Survived a Monday, which is always good :) On to the next day and surviving the rest of the week!
~A.Mo
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
No House
Wow, how life can change in just a few days. Last week, I was feeling pretty confident in my job, pretty confident that I could buy a house right now....This week--as of Monday, actually--I have lost confidence. We had a round of layoffs on Monday....and this time the selection was very surprising.
We last had layoffs in February--shocking in and of itself, as we had no warning, no idea, and the company had only had layoffs once before in its nearly 20-year existence. It seemed like more of a "trimming the fat" kind of deal, getting rid of low performers and such. No real surprises in who they chose to let go, though sad and a shock all the same.
This time, four months later, was a total shock. They had told us in February that they expected we would be okay, they had gone with a very conservative model, etc. Well, apparently it wasn't conservative enough, and we were NOT okay. Rumor has it that the company that bought us is looking at our numbers every quarter--hence the timing of this second round of layoffs. Makes me feel like I have a pretty good chance of losing my job come October!
What does this have to do with my house? Well...Monday was the last day of the option period, in which I could opt to terminate the contract, with minimal cost to me. Needless to say, I took the events and upheaval of the day, and the timing, as a sign that I don't really need to be buying this house right now. I did consider all my options, looked at everything from every angle--I considered that if something were to happen, I could get a roommate, I could lease the house out, I could sell it, or I could hand the keys back to the bank (NOT recommended!). After careful (but quick!) consideration, I chose to opt out.
My current living situation is such that if I were to lose my job, I could work something out. And believe you me, the relief I feel is far greater than the disappointment at not buying a house. It stinks a little, though, because I had an awesome rate, and I already had a closing date scheduled.
Oh well. I'm good with it. I hate my commute, but my rent is cheap (and could be cheaper if need be). It could well be worse--I could have a mortgage I could no longer afford, I could end up foreclosing....I recognize that buying a house is always a gamble, but right now I really am not up for gambling with that kind of dough.
We last had layoffs in February--shocking in and of itself, as we had no warning, no idea, and the company had only had layoffs once before in its nearly 20-year existence. It seemed like more of a "trimming the fat" kind of deal, getting rid of low performers and such. No real surprises in who they chose to let go, though sad and a shock all the same.
This time, four months later, was a total shock. They had told us in February that they expected we would be okay, they had gone with a very conservative model, etc. Well, apparently it wasn't conservative enough, and we were NOT okay. Rumor has it that the company that bought us is looking at our numbers every quarter--hence the timing of this second round of layoffs. Makes me feel like I have a pretty good chance of losing my job come October!
What does this have to do with my house? Well...Monday was the last day of the option period, in which I could opt to terminate the contract, with minimal cost to me. Needless to say, I took the events and upheaval of the day, and the timing, as a sign that I don't really need to be buying this house right now. I did consider all my options, looked at everything from every angle--I considered that if something were to happen, I could get a roommate, I could lease the house out, I could sell it, or I could hand the keys back to the bank (NOT recommended!). After careful (but quick!) consideration, I chose to opt out.
My current living situation is such that if I were to lose my job, I could work something out. And believe you me, the relief I feel is far greater than the disappointment at not buying a house. It stinks a little, though, because I had an awesome rate, and I already had a closing date scheduled.
Oh well. I'm good with it. I hate my commute, but my rent is cheap (and could be cheaper if need be). It could well be worse--I could have a mortgage I could no longer afford, I could end up foreclosing....I recognize that buying a house is always a gamble, but right now I really am not up for gambling with that kind of dough.
Friday, June 12, 2009
House
So...I'm buying a house this year. I wasn't going to, I was going to continue with my living arrangements for another year and try to save up as much money as possible...but several things happened: Someone sent me an article about the first-time home buyer tax credit....One of my friends built a beautiful (and affordable) house...and several of my coworkers are taking that plunge as well. So after speaking with some friends about what steps one takes to find out if one can even think about buying a house, I contacted a mortgage broker. I figured I might as well see how much house I can afford, if any. (Suffice it to say, I am still impressed with my credit score. :D )
After meeting with her, I contacted a realtor whom several of my friends had worked with, and away we went! I don't know how many houses we looked at--not as many as some people, I'm sure--but one neighborhood I think we looked at about six houses....
At the end of my first week looking at houses (I think we had gone out maybe 2 or 3 times), I fell in love. (NOTE: Don't let yourself do this!) I made an offer on a house--a darn good offer!--but the owner was clearly not ready to sell, as she did not want to come down on her asking price one little bit. I was saddened, but not willing to pay that price. We kept looking....
Funny enough, maybe two weeks later I made an offer on a house 3 doors down--a similar floor plan, but slightly different, and I lowballed, to see if they were willing to negotiate. Well, I nearly fell out of my chair when my realtor called me and told me they had countered! I thought for sure that they would flat-out reject my offer. So I countered their counter, and then we reached a compromise. Awesome! And really scary! Holy cow, this crazy house-buying idea of mine is becoming more real!
It's exciting--and periodically I feel a little panicked, because O.M.G. I am buying a house!!! I had scheduled the inspection for yesterday--he didn't find anything major--and then of course last night we had a huge storm move its way across Central Texas! Grreat! (Fortunately, i have friends who live in nearby neighborhoods, and they didn't have any damage. Whew.)
After meeting with her, I contacted a realtor whom several of my friends had worked with, and away we went! I don't know how many houses we looked at--not as many as some people, I'm sure--but one neighborhood I think we looked at about six houses....
At the end of my first week looking at houses (I think we had gone out maybe 2 or 3 times), I fell in love. (NOTE: Don't let yourself do this!) I made an offer on a house--a darn good offer!--but the owner was clearly not ready to sell, as she did not want to come down on her asking price one little bit. I was saddened, but not willing to pay that price. We kept looking....
Funny enough, maybe two weeks later I made an offer on a house 3 doors down--a similar floor plan, but slightly different, and I lowballed, to see if they were willing to negotiate. Well, I nearly fell out of my chair when my realtor called me and told me they had countered! I thought for sure that they would flat-out reject my offer. So I countered their counter, and then we reached a compromise. Awesome! And really scary! Holy cow, this crazy house-buying idea of mine is becoming more real!
It's exciting--and periodically I feel a little panicked, because O.M.G. I am buying a house!!! I had scheduled the inspection for yesterday--he didn't find anything major--and then of course last night we had a huge storm move its way across Central Texas! Grreat! (Fortunately, i have friends who live in nearby neighborhoods, and they didn't have any damage. Whew.)
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