Back to Iowa

Greetings:

I've traveled to Nashville, been professionally developed, and am back in Iowa again.   I admit before leaving I was no longer thrilled with the notion of leaving town with all the house stuff taking place.   I stuck with my plans though and took off a few days early with a colleague that works in Des Moines in the area of public health.   We left on Saturday morning but took off later than planned due to the weather and road conditions.   We drove to Tennessee which took about 11 or so hours.    She travels the way I do and we barely made any stops.   Our first planned stop was at a state park called the "Land Between the Lakes" and it was pretty cool.   We also stopped at Clarksville to their original train station.   That was more of a stop for her as she thought it was cool to see a location related to the Monkees song "Last Train from Clarksville". 

We stayed at a hotel in the college area of Nashville and just settled in the first night.    A Chili's was across the street so we didn't try to find any local, unique eateries.    She got a really nice hotel room that basically served as an apartment.   It had a full kitchen.    Considering I was "tagging along" I volunteered and slept on the sleeper sofa.   The next day (Sunday), we went to Lynchburg TN to see the Jack Daniel's Distillery.   I don't like that kind of alcohol but it was actually a really good tour.   The place has really neat history in relation to the start of creating whiskey, Prohibition, and how the production enlarged to meet the world's needs.    The tour ended with a tasting of five types of their whiskey.   We did some tourist shopping after that and went back to Nashville.    We purposely took back roads to avoid the  heavy traffic and drove by a new development with houses starting at 500K.   And they were having open houses.   Jess decided we should stop and look at one.    It was a very awkward walk through the house but was neat to see what 750K would buy down there.   (FYI, they don't build many houses with basements.   I think that's weird because they do get tornadoes.)    I'm pretty sure the realtor thought we were lesbians or something. 

We went to a local place for supper called BrickTops because we thought it was casual.  It was not.    But it was a really good meal.    I was able to get deviled eggs for an appetizer with "millionaire bacon".   It is the best bacon I've ever had as it goes through stages of being cooked, coated with brown sugar, cooked, brown sugar, etc.    After a heavy appetizer I got a basic salad but we ended up sharing an ice cream sundae.   

On Monday we went to the city's wax museum.   It had a heavy focus on country music (of course) but it was cool.    It was also a bit creepy at times too.   It included some cool historical artists too.    We went back into Nashville  afterwards and found the American Pickers location in the city.   The TV show is quite deceiving.    It made it sound like they bought an entire old factory but the old building is actually a fancy strip mall and the Antique Archeology is just one of the stores.   It had a lot of artifacts they've picked on the show and the usual magnets, t-shirts, etc.    We decided to head back to hotel as we both needed to do some work and some pre-conference stuff.   

Tuesday was the first official day of the conference.   It was the  SHAPE annual conference.   (Society of Health and Physical Educators).    The highlight seminars for me were related to me teaching pre-service how to teach health.    I also went to some cricket activities as they are trying to bring that sport into the USA.    Jess is originally from England so she's a big cricket fan.   The lead speaker for the day was a educator from the Bronx that helped solve a food dessert issue in the area by having kids plant gardens for the school and community.    He did well to outline what needs to be fixed in society and how teachers fit into that picture.    Wednesday was another day of seminars too and then I made my way to the airport to fly back to Iowa. 

The flight out of Nashville was a bit stressful because we left late.  It wasn't a big deal for me because I ensured I had a decent layover at the next location but a lot of people were panicking as they were going to miss connecting flights.    The flight was fully booked too and they started making announcements early that not all carry-on luggage would fit on the plane.   They were encouraging people to check bags (free of charge) so I decided to volunteer my roller bag.    Very few were willing to do so and by the time they were boarding the last two zones on the plane, they announced that all remaining bags had to be checked so people were pissed off.    I got to Atlanta though (only took 20 minutes).   It was an odd flight pattern---Nashville to Atlanta to Des Moines but it was a cheap flight.   The flight to Des Moines was also fully booked which many people said was odd for a such a late flight at night on a Wednesday.    I got into Des Moines at 11pm and Dan picked me up.   We were up late though because I had to stop at my apartment in Ankeny to get my vehicle and when we got to Ames I needed to stay up to eat.   I was starving.   

I was back to work on Thursday and the rest of the week ended well.   The conference itself wasn't as good as past conferences unfortunately but I did learn some new things.   I saw/met more people from Iowa than I expected too.   The venue for the conference was too big in a sense with how spread out things were but I guess too big rather than too small.   The venue didn't have options for food and lunch either.   There were a lot of hungry health and PE teachers walking around.    The location for the conference next year is Miami!    Doubtful I'll go, but it's under consideration. 

I'll be spending this weekend grading a lot.   I have about 400 assignments to grade for ISU alone.   Weee! 

Here are some pics from my adventures in the South:

926 Grand Avenue---Time for an Update

I am blogging from a couch in my house!   Mind you the living room is in disarray but nevertheless, I'm watching TV and relaxing. 

We moved Dan into the house on March 3-4 and it was a lot of hard work but the process went well.    He wasn't as prepared as I wanted him to be and he did have to scramble a bit before we showed up to start moving things.    I bit my tongue because I had warned him for weeks/months to start packing and cleaning.   On Saturday we used our own vehicles.    Gavin had a friend join us and was able to borrow a different friend's truck.   Gavin and his buddy were essential with how much they lifted and moved.    We did have a "keys locked in a truck" situation but worked through it. 

On Sunday it was primarily Dan and I and we had a box truck rented from my realty company.    We emptied the rest of his apartment.    We still had 1/3 of the truck to fill so we went to my place next in Ankeny and filled it all the way.    I was able to pull a lot from my storage unit and we put some shelf units in the truck too.    I had a decent amount of boxes packed too that got loaded.     During the late afternoon and into the evening we unloaded the box truck in Ames.   We had some people visit the house too (Dan's Mom and her husband, and Shirley & Stewart).    Shirley was cool and helped unload the truck for a bit.    Stewart kind of nit-picked the house and it's apparent he doesn't like my choice of a home.   Oh well, it's my house and not his.    Dan's friend (and past roommate) did a lot of repair in the house too over that weekend.   We needed a basement step fixed as well as a piece of furniture that was damaged in the move.   He also did some stabilization of our stairs that lead to the 2nd floor.   He's coming again on March 17-18 to do some more tasks in the house like putting our TVs up on the walls and putting a rod up in my closet so I can hang clothes. 

Over the past weeks we've unpacked and cleaned a lot in the house.    Here are the major accomplishments:

• Deep freeze was delivered and is running nicely in the basement...with nothing in it
• Mediacom came and at first had issues with setting up our cable and Internet; the contractor came 12 hours later with a Plan B and it worked out!   Cable and Internet in the house!
• had a locksmith company come to the house and we have logical locks now---previous owners had different keys for the front versus the back.   
• I bought shelves for the pantry and for storage in the basement---put them together and organized both areas.    The kitchen overall is done and just needs my items added to it in May.
• I somewhat organized Jude's room as his items were packed by what seemed like a drunk person.   I went through all his clothes to create a donation pile, consignment pile, current use pile, and future use pile.  
• Gavin and friends have been able to take unneeded items (usually in bad shape) and empty cardboard boxes to a pal's place outside Ankeny to be burned---very handy as we don't have a lot of space for garbage to be laying around.  
• Dan hooked up his washer and dryer and I've used them quite a bit.   It's weird how you get used to a certain type of appliances.    I don't mind his but they aren't as great as the ones in my apartment.   
• Dan's ex gave him his cat back earlier than we expected.    Jinx is now a fixture in our house and he's been an easy pet.   Apparently she's acting a lot different (in a good way) as it was customary for her to hide a lot and avoid people.   She's like attached to me if I'm home and is very social now.    I think she's comfortable not having a house full of animals.    
• I repaired the ceiling in Dan's closet and he was able to hang his clothes tonight and get more stuff put away.     
• I bought a new vacuum and it's been glorious cleaning up parts of the house.    I am anxious to clean the windows and window sills and the vacuum will be very handy.   It is a Hoover vacuum and it has pet features.   (Yes because of the cat but also because of a future Corgi.) 
• The last task we've done was in the 2nd floor bathroom as shower curtains are finally hung and the room can be used now.    We had only been using the first floor shower and Dan would prefer to be using the 2nd floor shower.    Eventually the basement shower/bathroom will be my bathroom.   

Upcoming duties and tasks are:

• Buy a new furnace filter
• Need another shelf in the pantry and another set in the basement
• Need to buy a split box spring for Gavin's room 
• Update driver's license

On top of all this change, I scheduled a conference next week so I'll be leaving Iowa to visit Nashville, TN.   The annual SHAPE conference is taking place at that location.    (Society of Health and Physical Educators)    A past student and now professional colleague is going as well as we are driving together on Saturday.    She plans to stay through the next Saturday and I will be coming back to Iowa on Wednesday.    I get to fly back.    Sigh.    I have to be thoughtful about how I pack to get there, what I buy there, and how to get it all back when I fly back to Iowa.   

I guess that's enough of an update.    And yes, Jinx runs around like a psycho in the middle of the night.    I'm usually up anyway so she has an audience. 

T-Minus 3 Days

It's a start to a big week!  On Tuesday morning, we have our final walk through of the house to ensure it is in the same state it was presented when I first made my offer on the place.    There have been repair people in the house so I'm hoping the floors still look decent.    Last Tuesday, the sewer was officially fixed so when we walk through in a couple days I plan on flushing toilets and having faucets run while we are there.    I know the sewer is fine now but it will still give me piece of mind.   It ended up costing the seller closer to 16K to fix the sewer.

The roof on the garage was completed on Thursday.    It too ended up being a bit more expensive for the seller but oh well.    The next part with the garage would be to add a garage door opener.    That will be Dan's task and Dan's bill though.  

On Wednesday at 3:30pm, I have my closing meeting with the bank to get possession of the house.    I also get to write them a large check for my down payment.  The meeting ends with me getting the abstract for the house and the keys.     I'll be getting a safety deposit box at the bank for the abstract.   If you lose it or it is destroyed it costs thousands to get it replaced.     We are also planning to get house re-keyed, new locks.    I'll probably do that during Spring Break.    I'm not super worried since the seller moved out a long time ago. 

Speaking of the seller....I got more of the story of why the house was vacant for so long.    Apparently the seller (in Australia) bought the house for their child that was supposed to attend ISU.    They tried attending but didn't even make it a full semester.    They left and went back to Australia.    So the house is in great shape because it was barely lived in even with this seller.    I'm still confused as to why such a big house was purchased for one person.  

On Saturday we'll start the move of Dan from Newton to Ames.    We are handling it with our own vehicles on Saturday and we'll have a box truck on Sunday.   Thankfully we have the box truck Sunday as it will likely rain all day.    He may be fully out of the apartment by Sunday and he'll have a couple weeks to clean well.    He is away behind in packing.   I told him that we are not coming on Saturday to pack for him.    He needs to be ready for us to put things on trucks.   

On March 9th, Dan has the day off from work so he'll be at the house all day.   He is having his Mediacom cable set-up that day and we are having our deep freeze delivered that day from Lowes.   Depending on cost and time, we may have a locksmith come that day too for changing the locks on the house.    I bought a deep freeze the other day as it was one of the "big" things I wanted to get for the house and get into our basement soon.    

I may move some things this weekend too but it won't be anything major since Gavin and I will still live here into May.    I may have some bookcases get loaded and things like that.    

Next "big" thing to do is get some quotes for tree trimming.    

That's the update!

Moving Closer to a Closing Date

Greetings:

I received confirmation that my mortgage has moved to the closing process.    I have officially done all the "homework" I needed to make the bank and underwriter happy.    Closing date is still set for February 28th. 

I found out that Roto Rooter is starting work tomorrow (Feb 13) on redoing the sewer line.     The garage roof will be done this week too but likely later in the week as it should be in the upper 30s or lower 40s so the snow should melt off said roof.    Either way, both processes need to be done by Feb 21. 

I'm not quite sure when I need to officially pay the down payment.   The money is sitting in my new Wells Fargo account.   State Farm still needs to come in and look at my fire place too.   Dan hasn't given his landlord notice yet either but can at any time.    I set the date for the electric, water, sewer to be put in my name for the residence.    We will put the gas in Dan's name because he's using the same company in Newton and just needs to change the addresses.    He's looking into options with his cable and Internet.    If there isn't a fee to just cancel the cable, we are going to do that.   But if there is a fee to cancel the cable early, we'll keep it for a bit.    Have to have Internet though.   

We have also picked a local garbage company too.    I feel like such an adult organizing all these utility services.    I'm used to them all being included with rent.   

Work is going quite well for both institutions.   I have 90 students turning in an assignment this Friday though so I'll start having digital piles of grading to deal with.   I'm also working extra hours for DMACC this month because our coaching classes weren't properly staffed.    I'm not thrilled to be working almost every weekend but hey, it's money. 

I have been working out almost every M, W, and F with the Exercise Clinic at work (ISU).    I am very pleased with my progress with weight lifting.    I'm making great gains with my upper body but do need to do more cardio.   I do end up working out on some Tuesdays and Thursdays too because of the class I teach for future PE teachers.    I've been making them try different group fitness classes.    I see the upcoming move as a workout too as there will be lots of loading/unloading vehicles and using stairs at the new house.    Functional fitness!   I'm more excited about it than Dan. 

Very excited to see some family this weekend and have some fun!

The Sewer on Grand Avenue....Not so Grand

Ah yes, much has transpired since my last blog entry about becoming a homeowner.     Had I written this a couple days ago, I would have been in more of a panic.   Alas, things are going in my favor so I'm feeling pretty good about the house.  

So on Friday last week, my agent sent a document to the seller's agent specifying we wanted the garage roof inspected as well as the sewer line scoped.     They had three days to say yes, no, or negotiate.   By day 4, my agent had to pester them a bit for an answer.   They agreed to have a construction company come to look at the roof and have Roto Rooter scope the sewer line.     The construction company checked and did a quote for the garage roof.    I was expecting to just do a quote for patching the hole but turns out the whole roof should be redone.    They will do so by the end of February.    $1600 covered by the seller.    

Onto the sewer....we didn't get an immediate answer about it.     My agent decided to contact Roto Rooter and thankfully the secretary was forthcoming about the news.    Sewer line = yikes.   We new about this for a period of time and the seller did not know we were aware of the news.    Finally on Wednesday night, the seller's agent communicated the news and told my agent they would be covering the full cost of replacement which is at least $14,200.  We are still rather shocked they didn't do something different but grateful for their decision.    We thought one of the following was going to happen:

1)  they try to negotiate and get me to pay part of the bill "if you want the house so bad, pay for half of the new sewer"

2) they could have pulled the house off the market, fixed the sewer, and put it back on the market for a higher price.    They may have offered to me first but it would have likely been out of my price range by that point.   

The bank ordered the appraisal of the house/property today.   I guess that happens in a two week time frame.  The new garage roof and sewer line are to be completed by February 21, a week before my closing date.   It's supposed to give me time to go and inspect the work to be sure I'm happy with it.    

My agent informs me that it is now the lull in the process because everything that needs to be done is not in my power.  I really won't be busy with things and meetings again until the end of February.  

Regardless of the recent drama, we are still on track for a February 28 closing date.    Dan hasn't informed his landlord yet about moving by the end of March but can likely do so soon.   

I am more than ready for my excursion to Osceola to take in The Thunder from Down Under.    Bronzed men dancing and alcohol.    Yes please.    

That's all with my update for now!

Maybe a Homeowner?

I believe this blog entry will only focus on my potential future home.    Lots has been happening lately so I figured I'd give an update.

My realtor sent a document to the seller's agent on Friday that lists things we want fixed before I would take possession.    We were asked to keep in mind the house is older so some of the things we aren't thrilled with can't necessary make the list.    An example is the windows.     A couple locks are broken and a couple panes of glass are broken.    The windows were likely that way for the current owner. 

We have two items on the "need to fix" list.    The first is a small hole in the garage roof.    They've been told to have a contractor come and look at the roof and apply the repair at their cost.     The second request is for a company to come and scope/video the sewer line from the house.    A) We want to see the tree root situation.   B) We want to see what kind of tile is associated with the sewer line.    Older homes sometimes use a tile made from Orange Burg (spelling?) and it turns into swiss cheese over time, especially with tree roots factored in.    It makes sewer lines collapse.   The good news is that with research, we are finding out that type of tile wasn't commonly used in older homes in Ames.   But there have been some occurrences in the community.    It seems to be more popular in older homes in Des Moines.    If we don't like what we see with the sewer line I would likely pull out of the deal unless the seller fixes the situation. 

We'll see how the seller and their agent react.   They can agree, negotiate, or say no.   My realtor thinks they'll agree because the list is so short and simple.    Plus the seller lives in Australia and likely wants this house sold and done with.    My realtor says he's used to having at least 10 items on the "fix it" list and sometimes up to 30. 

The inspection went very well.     He did put the concern in our head in terms of the sewer line but that's just a precaution type of check.    Radon testing gave an appropriate level.    My main concern was the attic and moisture in the ceilings upstairs.    Everything is dry--whew.   The inspector was pleased with the house.    He was very happy with the grading outside of the house that is causing water to move away from the house nicely, hence a dry basement.    In terms of his report and our own observations, here is our list of things that would need to be done with the house in no particular order:

1) gutters need to be cleaned on both the house and garage
2) add window wells to some basement windows to maintain the grade away from the house
3) trim tree limbs as many are hanging over the house
4) likely take down a tree east of the garage as it's too close to the structure and if it falls....good-bye garage
5) seal a couple of sets of windows upstairs as they are carriage windows and are very drafty

The main priority if I get the house would be the gutters and the trees.

In terms of things that need to be done and added as we move in would be:

1) buy a chest freezer for the basement
2) get shelving for a closet in our kitchen/dining room as it would need to be a pantry
3) figure out what we can move ourselves and what we'll actually need movers for (I'm not hurting my back)

It will feel weird to start making decisions about utilities too as I need to figure out what garbage company to use, Internet company, etc.    We are only going to use Netflix for awhile and not get cable or satellite.   And if Dan wants something more than Netflix he's going to handle it and pay for it.    I can't really switch over utilities but will have utilities on at both my apartment and the house for a couple months.    If we get the house, Dan would officially be living in it come April.   We'd use March to move him and move some of my stuff.    I'd continue to stay in Ankeny and slowly move more and more stuff to Ames in April.    Having Dan officially move in the house in April allows me to pay rent in Ankeny and pay a mortgage starting in April too. 

I had free time last night and took my "first time homeowner" course offered through Wells Fargo.    I paid $75 but it gives me $750 toward the homeowner process.    The money can go towards closing costs or my escrow fund.    Easy class and learned a lot from it.    Easily earned my A. 

After we get an answer on Monday about our requests for repairs, we can let the bank know we want the house to be appraised.    We've been holding off until we knew what we wanted the seller to fix and wanted to see their attitude toward fixing those items.   Tuesday is the deadline for ordering the appraisal for the timeline associated with my mortgage process.   Times a ticking.   We need to see if the house appraises for at least the amount I'm offering the seller. 

I decided to make it more public that I am trying to move to Ames so I shared a post from Facebook that my realtor posted on his business area on Facebook. 




Last but not least here are some of my pipe dreams if I do get this house and want to make changes to it in the distant future when the Money Fairy leaves me money to use for home improvement:

1) enlarge the 2nd floor bathroom and put in a modern shower/tub
2) put laundry in the area that is the 1st floor bathroom and not have a shower in that spot
3) connect the back of the house to the garage (breeze way idea)
4) before the breeze way addition, add a gate so the backyard can be completely closed off for a dog
5) the area in the back of the house has red brick for walkways...make the gravel driveway brick to match.   Add more brick to back yard for a flat area for a grill/patio


That's enough for now!   Fingers crossed for good news this week!

Week One Done

The first week of the semester is in the books.    It went really well.    I met with my DMACC class Monday night and most seem eager to learn about health and wellness.    The online DMACC classes are going OK too.    They have to turn in an assignment by January 17 to not get kicked out of class.     We'll see how many get the boot.

ISU is going well too.    Things went as planned with my health class.    I did cancel class on Thursday so I only saw my PE class once this week for syllabus day.     Thankfully I can put some work online for them to do so we'll have a jam-packed Tuesday next week.    For the first time in awhile, I don't know the majority of the students in the PE class.   Out of the 29 students, I have only had four before.   

I have the day off for both DMACC and ISU on Monday due to Martin Luther King Day.    I am signed up for two yoga classes that day.    I am also proud to say I worked out at the Exercise Clinic at ISU twice this week.    I had to skip on Wednesday as I had a noon meeting.    One of the administrative assistants is supposed to be working out too but she hasn't come yet.    I am hoping she comes next week but she's openly admitted she doesn't feel motivated to work out. 

I don't have a whole lot of free time at ISU because I'm hiring life guards/swimming instructors for Swim & Gym.   Most days are peppered with interviews and showing people our ancient pool.    I am teaching a CPR/AED class next week too.   Not my favorite task but I try to do it at least 1-2 times a semester to keep my certification valid. 

We went to view another house tonight.   I was a bit excited until we started walking around it.   Sweet Lord it was bad.   It was built in 1894 so it has potential to be a really cool house.   We don't know if it's the current owners or past owners but the attempted updates in the house are horrible.   And we saw many things not up to code.   It sucks because the price is fantastic but we don't want a house that needs that much work.    We took a look at our house-hunting app tonight and found two in Ames that are appealing.    Hopefully we can see those next week to get an idea.   

On Thursday, when I didn't venture to ISU due to the weather, I got a lot of cleaning down around here.    The Internet wasn't working so I couldn't get much done for work.   I swept and mopped all of the apartment.   The greatest success was cleaning Gavin's shower.    It was horrible.   I'm also starting to strategize how to start packing.    I have items that I barely touch or use so I figure I can start doing some packing.   I've asked the front office staff at work to start keeping boxes for me.    We get so many deliveries in the department that collecting boxes should come easy in the next months.   I know a lot of the breakable stuff I've gotten from Grandma could be packed away securely so I can display it in the future.   

I'm trying to be social in the next weeks too so I don't just bury myself in work.    We have our Christmas/Gavin's birthday celebration on January 20 in Boone.    I am going to visit a friend from grad school next week as she lives in Ames.    I organized a meal with family in Ames and Ankeny for Thursday too.   It looks like Rachael, Jessy, Mary, and Shirley (maybe Stewart) can all gather for supper.    I am going to try and meet up with my past neighbor too since she's still in Ames too.   

I guess that's all for now.    It's 2am and I cannot sleep so I thought being productive with a blog entry would be a good way to make me tired.    No luck!


And no, I'm not angry about anything.   Just thought it was funny!