Escrow: Home Stretch

Well folks, this is it.  I signed my last bit of paperwork on Friday.  In the morning I stopped at the loan office and finished up my paperwork there.  In the afternoon I was joined by Mike, my mom, and my dad as we did the final walk-through and saw the repairs that had been done.

Updates:  The patio was not 100% removed and re-built as I would have hoped, but it is definitely repaired and will serve as an excellent entertaining area.  The water heater is now strapped securely to the wall of the closet and appears earthquake proof.

I walked through the house like a little kid on Friday: It was actually becoming a reality.  I'm not too sure what to do with myself after checking another item off of my bucket list.  I don't have a concrete bucket list, but owning a home or condo was definitely on it.  I've realized that within my extremely satisfying relationship with Mike, I've been able to check quite a few items off of my bucket list.  Here's a few that come to mind:

• Graduating from college.  
• Purchasing a home.  
• Sitting on a deserted beach somewhere drinking beer.  The somewhere was Isla Ixtapa, Mexico.  The beer I believe was Dos Equis.
• Getting a motorcycle license.  
• Leaving the US without my parents, and Ensenada doesn't count.  So Mike and I went to the Bahamas!  

So I guess the question is, what's next?  I guess I'll add a kitchen remodel to my bucket list, since we're going to do it anyway.  Perhaps a bathroom renovation?  I think I'd like to learn how to sew window treatments of some kind like my mother always did for me.

So that's it for now.  I'm in my final stages of packing but I've hit a rather large dilemma: I've planned a little work trip to Mammoth over the upcoming weekend and I managed to pack almost every article of warm clothing.

So, my current hurdle is gathering up all of the clothes that I'm going to need to survive an extremely snowy locale and packing a weekend bag.  All that while trying to work, go to photography classes, pack the rest of my junk, and attempt to be a loving and doting girlfriend.  Thank goodness Mike has decided to head back to his parents house for the weekend and give me time and space to accomplish all of these things!

Love you all!  Can't wait to see you at our new home soon!

Mike & Kipp

PS Any thoughts as to where I should take this blog after the home buying process is through?  Home remodeling perhaps?  Pepper in some interesting photography perhaps?  No really, I'm looking for ideas.  Please comment below!

Escrow: I have no clue what day it is!

No really.  I thought yesterday was Day 30.  My realtor thinks today is Day 30.  My heart says last week was Day 30.  All I know is that we're nearing the end of our Escrow journey friends, and I thought I'd take a moment to thank you all for coming on this little road trip with us.

About 11 months ago we started this whole shennanigan and you've all been there for one heartbreak or another.  We want to thank you for all of your support, your well wishes, your prayers, your jokes, and the household items that you have so graciously disposed of with us.  We know you're happy when your cupboards are just a little less squished, and so we're glad to take those extra things off your hands for you!

One last update: WE SIGNED OUR LOAN DOCS LAST NIGHT!!!

What does that mean?  That means that a little termite work needs to be done and with any luck we'll be doing our final walk through this week.  Please pray we get our keys by Friday, because then we can start the painting process and move in relatively soon.  Otherwise we'll be painting and moving in the middle of the week, and to be honest I don't do well in the middle of the week.  I cry a lot and throw tantrums.  Just ask Mike, it gets ugly.

So one last photo to get you in the painting mood.  I know many of you have seen it from facebook, but here's the shot of the "bouquet" Mike gave me for Valentine's day this year.  It was perfect.  I ooh'd.  I aah'd.  Then I handed him cufflinks.  I am a crappy girlfriend.

Love you all!

Mike & Kipp

Escrow: Day 29

Wow, shouldn't this be my last post that has the title of "Escrow"?  Yah it should.  Will it be?  Probably not. 

As of Friday afternoon, my loan guy had run into a bit of a wall.  A self-built wall if you ask me. 

(Note: I never say his name in my entries because while I would never recommend him to you, I refuse to give him negative publicity.  I will not ruin his business, but I certainly will not help it along.) 

So back to my Friday story.  I found out earlier last week that the investors that were supposed to buy our loan were not going to do so due to a bit of information they had discovered very late in the escrow process:  Our complex is only 70% owner occupied.  Now you're scratching your head, "Wait, Kipp, did I read that correctly?"

Yes, you read that correctly.  The investors don't want our loan because of the neighbors.  It has nothing to do with us.  Wow.  That was news for us.  We had been told a lot of things about getting a loan: check your credit score, monitor your credit dilligently, keep money in the bank, pay down high bills, don't miss payments, etc. 

Never once in all of our classes did anyone tell us that the number of the units that are rental properties will affect your loan.  Then I started looking it up: Fannie and Freddie only care if there are over 50% rental properties.  Most loans only care about that if you are an FHA loan.  We are conventional. 

So it's just our luck: We found a property that we love.  We found a loan that we like.  The loan doesn't like the property.  Sheesh. 

So now our loan guy has (supposedly) been trying to sell our loan to other investors.  That was last week.  Tomorrow is supposed to be our last day in escrow. 








...This is the pause for you to laugh because I said "supposed to be our last day in escrow." 








Well let's just say on a scale of 1 to 10, my stress in this scenario is about a 9.5.  If this were the Olympics I might take the gold medal for stress.  Then again, I'm still not a perfect 10.0.  Hahah. 

So please, whatever you're thinking and to whomever you pray, keep the good thoughts for us and throw a quick shout out to your Almighty tonight before you go to bed.  We'd really appreciate it. 

And I promise, if we still get our keys this weekend, then there will be a cooler full of sodas (and man sodas) and pizza for everyone at our house!  (Yes, that's another shameless plug to get you all to come and visit us, and perhaps pick up a paint roller while you're there!) 

Love,

Mike & Kipp

Escrow: Reflections

I was watching "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" the other night and it got to the part where Brad Pitt tells Angelina Jolie "I guess at the end, you start thinking about the beginning."  Well, the tears started flowing at that moment: this is an end for me and it hit me like 2 tons of bricks covered in bird poop.

I've lived in the same house for 25 years and 11 months exactly (well at least that's how old I'll be when we close escrow).  I started off in the yellow bedroom that was decorated with ducks and had a cute little trundle bed.  After a while I realized that my bed was cold so I used to walk next door to my parents room and climb into bed with them.  Then I'd turn horizontally and kick one of them.  I was a pain in the butt.

Then, when I was about 3 I was at a farm in Chino with my Grampa when I was bitten by a duck.  I became afraid of ducks and hated my yellow room with the duck accents.  With a little bit of convincing from my mother, my father agreed to buy me my own bed.  At age 4 I moved into white bedroom next door to my room and got my very own queen size water bed.

I lived in the white bedroom for the next twenty one years.  It's filled with my memories, my life, my belongings, and my trinkets and treasures.  Looking at the picture below, you may never know that you're looking at some of my favorite things:

On the left there is a cork board with a birthday card from two of my dearest friends, Cristina and Denise, from a few years back.  Also on the board is a purple foam and glitter crown that was given to me for my 21st birthday from the wonderful and amazing, Ms. Bailey.  That wig on the top shelf is from the infamous "Pregnant Britney" Halloween costume.  In those 2 white boxes are photos and scrapbook pages, but more importantly a precious collage of photos from Rose of my God son, Devin.  Back on the left is a bright blue duffel bag that is from my days on the WCHS cheer squad.  That yellow/brown candle near the top, right shelf is actually a custom candle that was made back when I was born.  It has my first, middle, and last name as well as all of their meanings.

Looking at that picture shows me how many memories I've already packed up (look at all those empty shelves!), but also points out how incredibly far I have to go to bundle, wrap, and pack up all of the memories I have made in this room.

This picture cracks me up, but it is proof that I really have held on to so many incredible moments and fun times in my life.  That is my sash from when I made prom court 9 years ago.  I know what you're thinking.  "Kipp, you're crazy.  Throw that stuff away!"  Well I haven't.  Maybe I couldn't.  Maybe I was clinging to what I thought was a good time in my life, but just last week I was packing up my Zeta things and I realized that I replaced good memories in high school with great memories in college.

That was all I needed to know.  Every stage of my life has been greater than the last, and I have to look back at things like this in order to realize that Mike and I are about to embark on the greatest journey we'll ever have.  Greater than our road trips to Las Vegas or cruises in the Bahamas.  We're about to begin our life together.  I'm about to move in with my best friend and begin building our little nest-egg together.

Now if that's too sappy for you, take a look at some other things that I found.

See that blue eye in the center of the photo?  That's Donald Duck, my least favorite stuffed animal in the world, staring at me.  Also sitting there is the horse that Rainbow Brite (my childhood idol) used to ride.

Don't tell Mike, but the bottom two boxes are full of Zeta letters, Zeta gifts, and Zeta awards.  I'm not done packing the Zeta stuff yet!

This one might not look too important.  It's just a ragged and dirty stuffed animal, right?  Wrong.  That is Fraggle.  Fraggles are the coolest things I've ever seen in my life.  No lips.  No nostrils.  No pants.  But they are still the greatest mythical creatures in my eyes.  They build total underground cities, they eat sugar posts made by Dozers, and they hide from big fat things that live above them.

Well that was my little trip down memory lane.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I don't think I'd be half as nostalgic as I am if my parents hadn't started a remodel project and changed the exterior color of our house.  To top it off, they got a new front door today and decided that 2 keys for it was enough and that they didn't need to make me one.  Now I'm not mad, but it's definitely starting to hit me: it's the end, and I keep looking back at the beginning and all of the memories.

My Grampa, sitting in our living room and holding one of my beloved Christmas Barbie's

My Gramma and Mom in front of our fireplace

Grampa, Gramma, my Aunt Terri and I on Christmas morning

In my bathroom with the famous "Mrs. Federline" wig on.

Our 2006 Christmas pose.  I look like an idiot, but even Mr. Beans is looking at the camera.  

Beans doing what he does best: absolutely nothing.  

I love...

Here's a little list in honor of yesterday's wonderful little holiday that was created by Hallmark and continued by hopeless romantics everywhere! 

...the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking.

...clear skies and cold, crisp mornings. 

...watching a movies with my own personal heating blanket, AKA Mr. Beans. 

...riding through country back-roads on the Vespa and smelling all the fresh vegetables in the fields. 

...ice cold beer with ice chips floating in it. 

...blue box mac 'n cheese mixed in with a bag of frozen peas. 

...my mother's enchiladas. 

...Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books.  (Okay, I'll admit it.  I watch the movies too.)

...daisies. 

...working in the lab by myself on a weekend or a holiday (sometimes). 

...the sound of my parents in the living room and rustling newspapers. 

...Ramey's Carne Asada.

...fresh out of the dryer sheets and towels.  (I should really just buy a warming towel rack, right?)

...the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. 

...a hand made card or postcard in the mail.  (Snail-mail)

...when my car is clean, inside and out. 

...the way I fit under Mike's arm. 

...the sound of my bird whistling to me as I enter my parents' house. 

...getting to-go food from Vince's and taking them to Gramma's house. 

...cynical and sarcastic love books such as He's Just Not Into You, It's Called A Break Up Because It's Broken, and Such a Pretty Fat: Why Pie is Not the Answer. 

...road trips. 

"Mean Girls" or Marketing Sisterhood?

Sorority Rules at Cornell University

Okay so there is a lot of stuff flying around regarding Cornell University and Pi Bet Phi sorority.  The article that sparked my intrest is from Yahoo's front page and was written by a non-Greek, Ms. Jennifer Romolini.  (Yahoo, that was your first mistake.)  I have linked the article above. 

Read the Whole List from Pi Beta Phi Here

Now make your own assumptions, even take jabs at us ladies for it, but listen very carefully when I say that this is and will always be about putting your best foot forward during recruitment.  If you think it sounds ridiculous, think about all of the primping and poofing that our mothers taught us to do and the words "Easter dress" or "Christmas dress" that have been engraved into our minds beginning when we were toddlers.  Fashion is not a new subject for young women in America. 

The thing that irritates me the most about this whole situation is that people are angered at young ladies telling other young ladies what to wear.  Really?  Have you turned on the television lately?  If sorority women don't tell young women what to wear then perhaps Guiliana Ransic (E!) and Stacy London (What Not to Wear on TLC) will do it anyways. 

Do I care that the recruitment chair or advisor of this particular sorority told them not to wear watches?  Not at all.  It's a distraction during recruitment anyhow.  Does it bother me that they were told not to wear things unless they weighed 130 pounds or less?  Absolutely not, in fact I myself have wanted to say such things to other women in the grocery store.  Finally, do I find it odd that they were told not to wear things unless they could "pull them off?"  Hell no!  I cannot pull off a mini skirt, this is a simple truth.  So I don't wear a mini skirt. 

Now, in terms of the language that was used in the leaked outline of proper Pi Beta Phi attire, I find it amusing.  It is valley girl or mean girl lingo and I cannot help but laugh because it's irrelevant to the argument of whether or not what these girls are doing is wrong. 

What women of sororities do during these times is called marketing, nothing more and nothing less.  They are teaching their sisters how and when to put their best foot forward and if you thing it's snobbish or disturbing, then you are absolutely wrong. 

It teaches young women that manicures and pedicures are a treat and when you plan on shaking the hands of new acquantances all day, they are essential.  It reminds ladies that although your dye job is fantastic, roots will always catch up to you and they are one of the first things that people notice when they meet you.  More importantly, it guides young ladies to make proper attire choices for very precise situations.  Finally, it's about gently pointing out to a friend and sister that her make-up is a bit too much, or perhaps not enough.  Enhance your appearance and this will allow your personality  to shine above and beyond your outer shell. 

All of the above factors, as well as countless others about the fit or function of clothing, are relevant to them for the rest of their lives.  Business meetings.  Seminars.  Job interviews.  Etc.  A few added minutes to plot out your hair, make-up, and clothing choices can create an enticing appearance that (and here's that brutally honest part) that will open doors and create conversations that may have otherwise not have happened. 

So to the ladies of Pi Beta Phi,

     Keep on working out those wardrobe kinks...your members will be better for it in the future. 

Zeta Love,

Kipp

Escrow: Day 17

Well today we got a bit of bittersweet news:  although it's a good thing, it may result in a slight delay for our escrow. 

Back when the original owner decided to sell the house, the listing agent had a termite inspection performed.  During the inspection, they discovered the wood patio cover to be damaged by water and termites.  It needed to be replaced. 

Kim, the listing agent, very dilligently wrote the replacement patio cover into the bank paperwork and they agreed to replace it prior to the new owners (us) moving in.  Well, fast forward a few months and now we're flying through escrow but (you guessed it) the patio cover has not been repaired/replaced yet. 

So here we sit, waiting for the listing agent to tell us it's been fixed and pass the paperwork on to the escrow officer so that we can sign our loan documents and get our keys.  Now don't ge me wrong, I'm not complaining about them replacing the patio cover for free, but I'm just anxious to get started in Mike & my first home...

On a side note, Lowe's has a great deal on Olympic paint right now!  Mail in rebate for $5 back for each gallon bucket of paint purchased and $20 back on each 5 gallon bucket purchased.  Best of all?  The have a premium paint that not only carries a lifetime warranty, it is ZERO VOC!  Now everyone pray that Mike likes the colors I've tentatively picked out! 

Love, Mike and Kipp