And the winner is?

We made a decision last night, had all the paperwork drawn up this morning, and just moments before typing this entry...I get an email from the realtor saying another buyer is interested in my choice and their current house is already under contract. Such is life! We'll see what pans out.

After a LONG time measuring and remeasuring EVERYTHING in our house to see what place would work out best for us. We choose #2. (and all those that thought #3 had better potential....well there is a MAJOR bidding war, and the price went up by $100,000...with all that was needed, wouldn't have been worth it).

And we reciveed a list of updates from the sellers agent.  Having been through a remodel, we know how much these cost and am thrilled not to have to update these AGAIN.
~ Water Heater - 2008

~ Kitchen floor and counters replaced - 2008
~ Exterior Painting - 2008
~ Basement waterproofing with lifetime guarantee 2007 & 2008
~ Sump pump and air exchanger - 2007 & 2008
~ New upgraded alarm system - 2006
~ New upper deck and outside stairs - 2005
~ 3 new roofs - 2005
~ Driveway repaved - 2005
~ New gutters and downspouts - 2005
~ Boiler - 2004
~ A/C system replaced for upper 2 floors - 2000
~ New Windows in basement and first floor den - 2000


Geoff says I am wired different than most people. I look at homes were most see plain/ugly/dated and I see potential. And not obvious potential at that. He says I am in "left field". Well I take that as a compliment :)

Not setting my heart on this deal going through....but here were my ideas....I need some sort of a porch. Since this is a 1934 home I wanted to give it some old charm.

From this:

To this.....

While I LOVE old brick home....there is something so cool about stone.  It would add a little porch and some much needed curb appeal.

Crossing fingers we get this place....but not getting my hopes up.

Ennie, Meanie, Minie, Moe...

I am going to be a lean, mean making machine this afternoon since bookclub is at my house tonight (thank God my house is clean since we had YET ANOTHER, open house on Sunday....ugh....lots of people one person came back 3 times in 1 week...no offers).

But....here is where my mind has been ...options, options, options....

WARNING: Higher cost of living so no where near same house to $ ratio :( Remember, Madeline sees potential in all...she knows they are diamonds in the rough :)

Number 1

Pros:
LOVE this house...great location....GREAT PRICE, GREAT neighborhood (no way in heck could we afford any other house in this neighborhood...., great room size for an older house and room to expand in attic and basement. LOVE. THE. PORCH.
CONS:
On a busy 2 lane road. Can't hear ANY noise inside the house....but outside...woooosssshhhh, woooossshhh, woooosh (everyone is 20 miles over the speed limit), small patio backyard that looks into neighbors, would have to put up a fence, no garage or room to build one, on hill

Number 2

Pros:
GREAT FLOW... flat lot, already finished attic, basement is big enough to finish. Love the arches (I mean come on...look at my current house). Great neighborhood (the one with the tot lot), park down the street with a dog park and a kiddo park. Close to tons of shopping. Good room sizes
Cons:
Will have to paint EVERY ROOM and take down A TON of wallpaper, kitchen needs major help but has potential. No garage but room for 2 car garage.  $50,000 more than last house

Number 3

Pros: Cheap as all heck ($200,000 cheaper than #1), flat lot, great neighborhood, raw space. Same neighborhood as #2.

Cons:
Complete gut and full on major renovations....sigh.
Major Con:
Priced for a bidding war and probably won't take contingency. Already 2 offers by this morning.



Tell me what you're thinking!!

Ramblings and Such....

I have been pitiful with posts this week but we were in Alexandria/DC from Thursday-Sunday night. This week has been busy, busy, busy.  I am still dealing with my mother's estate and FINALLY have the LAST property transferred to my uncle (woohooo no more mortgage payments!!!). But things are never easy with this darn process and I have A TON of paperwork that has to be sent to a bunch of different entities (thank you WAMU). Tons of fun now that Washington Mutual has now joined with Chase(JP Morgan) and no one can give me a straight answer to what the heck I am suppose to be doing.

Needless to say...I have been...not stressed...but frustrated. 2 years and I am still up to my elbows in closing the estate. But my WONDERFUL husband said this year I am off the hook on doing the taxes and we can have the accountant do it! Woohoo(yeah, I am 99.9% sure we needed professional help with all the deductions and a major tax hits this household was about to have....way out of Turbo Taxes league)!!

So on this sunny Thursday....I will tell you the RANDOM things I found out about myself this last week (some I already knew, but were definitely made clearer this week).

• I like living in a metro area. Found out we really, REALLY like Alexandria!!! And this time in looking at places to live we did the major examination of the area. Examples "Do I have to go through the hood to get to my house", drove by the schools, drove in RUSH HOUR (on purpose too!), went to the neighborhoods at night. Located all supermarkets, Targets, movie theaters and drove to them. Drove different routes to neighborhoods. Looked for firehouses and hospitals (Jake is not a lover of sirens and has now taught Charlotte to howl like a wolf about to be slaughtered).

This picture from google does not do this city justice...but you get window into proximity to DC.

• No McMansions for me. I am not a commuter. I don't need an acre of land and a huge house far out from everything. I hate cleaning and I don't mow grass (really, I can't I'm allergic to it...honest to God! I start itching like crazy) I will take the small house and even smaller lot if it means I am less than a mile from a metro/beltline/Target/movie theater/ grocery store/park etc. Everyone has their priorities, and I know some of you guys could die living in an area where everyone is on top of one another....hey I don't blame ya!
  

Pic from Wikipedia ....look up the definition...hilarious.
• Moment I knew I was in absolute bliss: Going to the indie movie theater which was showing Doubt, Milk, The Reader, The Wrestler, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, and a couple more.  SIDE NOTE: Go see Slumdog Millionaire.  Really good movie and Geoff was SHOCKED he REALLY liked it...totally not what he was expecting. It's sad, funny...and the plot .....I can't even conjugate a sentence telling you how much I enjoyed it!

• Two Words: Tot lot.....yeah we don't have kids yet but to live in a neighborhood that has a park where everyone feels safe enough to leave their toys and bike there for others to play with...Geoff and I knew we had found a great place to live!

Not the best picture (from the Alexandria Dept. of Parks and Rec.)

• I really love places that love dogs: "Named as one of the Top 10 Cities (as part of the greater Washington Metropolitan area) in the U.S. for dogs, Alexandria is home to 20 dog parks, 6 specialty pet boutiques, 3 pet bakeries, 2 organic pet food stores, a luxury pet spa, and at least one doggie happy hour." 

• My name is Madeline...and I like options. I like having more than 1 really nice mall (shoot I''ll take 1 mall period...I have to drive to Jacksonville or Charleston for that). Options to fly (3 airports within an hours drive, one miles away..woohoo! ).Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter...I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Which theater to go to tonight? 5 within 4 miles (one of the is a 22 Imax).  Wanna go to DC tonight for dinner?  We can drive on the beltway, or take the metro, or take US 1 ....

Only picture of me the whole trip....this is my "Why do you have MY camera in your hands" smile :)

Stay tuned....My next post will show you some of our housing options (or lack of them...haha)

Whoever said white men can't jump...

didn't meet Charlotte.  Ok,ok,ok....she isn't a "man"...but she is mostly white :)  And at 10 months...she is a jumping freak of nature.  Don't believe me...well, I have the pictures to prove it.

On this beautiful 75 degree plus day (yeah...I'm rubbing it in to those of you who live in the freezing cold... less than a week ago it was BARLEY hitting the lower 30's in the daytime.  I'm a whimp...I'll admit it), I decided to play fetch for 20 mins with the Jake and Charlotte before lunch.  

Notice that Charlotte is not very happy that I decided to stop playing fetch. In her little 10 month, puppy mind she is thinking of the R. Kelly song..."I Believe I Can Fly"

"...I believe I can touch the sky"

She has now learned she has super puppy powers and can jump.  I swear she has springs in her paws. Look at the determination ...

And that my friends is Super Charlotte more than 5 feet in the air... with no running start.

I love my crazy girl....

Guiena pig

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes!! I am feeling better...due in part to the large amount of drugs I am on :)
Unfortunately, the Dr. scratched his head and said "We know there is something wrong, but we can't figure out what the trigger is"

Ummmmm....ok?

Since I am no doctor, I had him "dumb it down" for me.

My body is fighting something. Not sure if  it's Lupus or not.  They can't rule out Lupus or rule it in. It takes months and even years to properly diagnose (good grief).

But considering my symptoms (I put in bold the ones I have had):

Common Symptoms of Lupus

Painful or swollen joints and muscle pain

Unexplained fever

Red rashes, most commonly on the face

Chest pain upon deep breathing

Unusual loss of hair

Pale or purple fingers or toes from cold or stress (Raynaud's phenomenon)

Sensitivity to the sun

Swelling (edema) in legs or around eyes

Mouth ulcers

Swollen glands

Extreme fatigue

Mind you, all my tests show my liver, kidney etc are all functioning perfectly. My blood pressure is excellent. As is my cholesterol. So my major organs are all doing great (which is good news!!).

Dr.'s are hoping, if it is lupus, that it was caused by a reaction to a medicine and that if I am to stop taking it...it will "go away".

So they came me some more cortisone and steroids (which I HATE, they make you soooooo HUNGRY.  So one of my New Years resolutions is on hold.  I can't loose my weight in time for March.  I was so darn close too!  I was 143 at my weigh in...this is after all the steroids and eating).

I am off the antibiotics first and see if those were a trigger.

I am just going to think positively. Honestly, things could be so much worse! If anyhing, the doctors were happy I said something about this early. As with anything, best to catch it early before any major damage can be done.

They are keeping an eye on me, and I go back to the doctor in a month for more tests (unless the symptoms come back before).

Keep your fingers crossed this will go away on it's own :)  I'm keeping my spirits up!  Worrying won't do me any good.

Gonna miss this house....

My best friend, Laura, wanted me to take pictures of my house to "remember it by".

Lucky for her, I had already taken a TON. I saw the pictures the realtor took of my neighbors house (with a point and shoot no less..) and figured I might try taking a few of my own.

I'm starting to learn that you really are your own best advocate in life. Maybe it's my semi type A personality, but I think I know my house "best" and can try to show it in its best light. 

So here is my amateur attempt at real estate photography (please excuse the horrible quality of these shots...I had to compress them since I didn't know when I was shooting that the files were going to be gigantic).  These are just some of my faves. Turns out the realtor used it for her MLS listing and in her ads.

Casa Goins

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom (I tried my best to stage it with the tub caddy, wine, and a book)

Guest bedroom and guest bath

Kitchen

Guest bedroom 2

Man room

Living room

Dining room

Foyer

Sunroom

Family room

Backyard

Change is in the air....

Sorry my posts have been so few and far between. Alot has been going on in my world. Some good, and some bad.
Lets just say my last post (as allusive as it was) was foreshadowing this post. Why would I get irritated if a neighbor was trying to "one up us" in the landscaping/decor department. Well, normally I would care less...unless you both just put your homes on the market and are 2 doors down from each other!!

Yup, you heard correctly. Geoff and I have been working like busy bees to get this house ready to sell. I had an agents open house and a regular open house last week. I HATE having to have my house looking it's best at the drop of a hat for a showing. I hate people going through my house and I hate getting projects done for other people.

I know, I know....I thought this would be our forever home. And while Savannah did feel like "home"...I've also realized I miss a bigger city. Moving to Savannah was a GREAT move. I needed the slower pace after my mom passed away. My soul needed a break. We LOVE our house, and we made wonderful friends which I wish we could pick up and take with us(ok, some not so wonderful).

We have been thinking about this move for awhile now...and after recent incidents...and a "sign from above" we have decided to make the move to Washington DC (well Alexandria VA to be exact).

I have been offered a chance to be in a fellowship in DC that would let me teach in the inner city schools for 2 years while I received my masters at American University or George Washington (for a drop in the bucket compared to regular tuition).

With the market the way it is...who knows how long it would take to sell...and I have to check out the possible schools I might be teaching out to see if I can hack it. We're just being proactive "just in case".

What can I say...when I have changes going on in my life I like to do it in threes :)

Change career.....check
Change location....check
Change in health.....check (this would be the not so good part)

For the last couple of weeks I've been feeling lousy. Not sick...but weak, breaking out in random hives (not the kind that itch...the kind that make you feel swollen) and getting headaches that make me want to pass out. My ears and face felt like they were on fire and my glads were swollen and tender.


I finally went to the dr. I have more blood drawn out of me than I would like. An MRI and a CAT scan...all they (yes they, I have been to 3 doctors now) can say is what I don't have. My white blood cells are wacko right now, and my body is fighting something...but they are not sure what.

I am on steroids (ughhh...they make me hungry), 2 antibiotics, 1 other pill, and a shots of cortisone.

If I don't take the meds on time...I can feel bad again....the dr.'s say they can treat some of the symptoms but they still can't find the cause. They are leaning towards a form of Lupus though. More tests are being done, and I go back into the dr. tomorrow and Thursday.

I'll keep ya posted. I think with all that has been going on in the career/moving front...I haven't processed the health part yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Send me your good vibes :)