Tuesday, February 20, 2007

De-stressors

I find lots of ways to de-stress. I don't always find them in a timely manner, but eventually, I will find them.

Right now, my favorite de-stressor is fantasizing about living somewhere else.

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Last Sunday, we went and looked at this little gem. It's on a very quiet street, in a neighborhood that is just itself and not a cutthrough to get to somewhere else.

The master bedroom is large enough to accomodate our bed without covering up any vents. The other two bedrooms are a good size. There's lots of closet space. The kitchen is not huge, but not tiny, and is laid out pretty well. Lots of cabinets and a pantry. The family room is quite large. Big enough for a couch (our current one is not!). The back deck is amazing.

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There's a large above-ground-but-permanent pool for the hot Florida summers, and an enclosed-for-privacy hot tub for our aging and achy bodies after a hard KenPo workout. The back yard is fenced for future puppy dogs, which we want to get this summer.

The catch? The current owners apparently have had a succession of dogs with intestinal trouble because the carpets are full of dog poo. They're stained and smell so bad that I thought I was going to be sick. Not only would the owners have to come down on the price a bit (it's a little out of our comfort range), but they'd have to thrown in a flooring allowance too. Walls, I don't worry about. Ugly wallpaper can come down and hideous green walls can be painted over, but the floor? OMG.

We drove around the neighborhood a bit and came across this:

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Another very nice house. Very large and bright living room, sunny diningroom. NEW HARDWOOD FLOORS! Full-sized, in-ground pool in the back. Slightly more money than the first.

We talked it over and both of us decided that the first house would fit us better. Just get rid of the floors!!!

But, as I said. Fantasy at the moment. We still don't know what the owner of our current dwelling is thinking. Part of me wants to stay because I love our neighbors (except the ones immediately to the south of us), the location is a good one. The school Z-boy is in is pretty good and arrangements can be made about middle school when the time comes. And if they do want to sell, the price will probably be right.

But a girl can dream, can't she? And failing that, she can buy flowers.

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Yes. That is Christmas garland on our railing. The outdoor lights are still up too. We suck at de-decorating.

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And of course, Elvis serenaded me from the roses.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG! Your Elvis pics are cracking me up! Great job! I can't wait to see what you enter!

Anonymous said...

hey there, I have always loved that style of home...Some day I will have one that looks like that maybe...I used to know someone that lived in a house like that .and they were a really loving , close family ..so its probably the feeling I am more attracted to but I still like the house too...

Anonymous said...

I have been looking, too. However, my wife has been flaking out about her job so I am not so enthusiastic about upgrading at the moment.

Alice in Wonderbread said...

move to washington- buy my house, please! ;)