So, we aren’t very good at keeping up with this blog. .
Lauren here! Since our last post a lot has happened. We finished out 2009 living in our studio apartment. We began officially house hunting a few weeks after the wedding. With all the foreclosures and bank owned homes it was semi-difficult to find a house that wanted to be sold…
We looked for about 4 months, which I guess isn’t that long, but it seemed long to us. There were many homes in our price range, but not many livable ones. We found some really great houses, but the floors were ripped up and taken or other important parts of the house were missing. Whenever we’d find a house we liked, either the realtor selling the house would drop the ball or a cash buyer would get the house.
We bid on a house in early March and we lost it to a cash buyer. The next day, however, we got a call saying that buyer had backed out. After a bunch of legal stuff and waiting, we finally got the keys to our home. The roof needed to be replaced, the kitchen floor needed to be replaced, and the windows were circa 1978 & two of them were broken. We applied for a loan that would pay for the repairs, so we eventually got a new roof, new windows, and a kick-ass kitchen floor.
We’ve been in the house since the middle of April and are really enjoying it. We have our kitties back (Thanks Mom and Dad for watching them for us while we still lived in the apartment). We were able to get all of our stuff out of storage and have it under one roof for the first time in almost a year and a half. It’s funny how huge a house looks when it’s empty then how quickly you can fill it up if you’re not careful! We also like the fact that we don’t ever have to pay rent again.
Hello everyone, this is Rick.
Lauren was driving her minivan for a few years. She always appreciated the fact that it was made available to her and I also grew attached to it as well. However the size of the vehicle was a bit much for her to handle. We were able to go car shopping and wound up purchasing a Toyota Matrix. It’s small, which Lauren likes, and we were able to get the price down low enough for us to afford it.
Lauren again 
I’m loving the new car. It’s not new, but it’s “new” to me.
We’ve settled quite nicely into married life and home ownership. Keeping a 3 bedroom house clean is much, much different than keeping a studio apartment clean. We got a new vacuum to keep up with all the cat fur and I’ve already got my money’s worth. The plan was to vacuum every other day, if not daily. I’ve tried to do it, but haven’t kept perfectly to the schedule. Lawn mowing and yard work is completely new to me, but I enjoy it and can’t wait to get a garden going.
So yeah, we’re just working and I’m finishing up school and Rick’s playing music. It’s really been a wonderful 9 months of marriage. I can’t wait for the rest of our lives.
That’s the update…see you in a year 
