Home Sweet Home!!

Wow, it's been a roller-coaster couple of weeks, and I feel like I need a post just to remind myself of all that has happened. So on Tuesday March 10th, I was in Albuquerque, NM for a tech support F2F. Jason was hunting for homes, as he has been doing for the last few months while we waited on the longest "short"sale of all time. He found the most beautiful home, but it was listed for more than we wanted to spend. He tried to talk himself out of putting an offer in, and eventually asked me to go look at the house when I got home on Wednesday the 11th. I went to the house straight from the airport. I loved it. We said what the hell, we'll offer what we're willing to pay, and who knows, sometimes you get lucky. We submitted the offer on the 12th, and to our intense surprise it was accepted by the owner (another real estate agent) on the 13th, and the bank first thing Monday on the 16th. I was in Chicago at this point, but it was sure exciting. Aparently the other offers had been higher, but the bank approved letter for required price was just below what we had offered, and it expired at the end of March - no one else could close quickly enough for the approval letter to still be active. We were now in escrow So I'm in Chicago for the week, frantically writing down lists of everything that needs to be done - all the addresses that need to be changed, the updates to our utilities, rental trucks, cleaning crews, landscapers, the whole shebang. We actually get the inspector to come on Monday the 16th, and he gives it a very good bill of health, with just a few minor issues - AC needs servicing, there's an electrical outage in the 3rd bedroom, and one of the outside faucets had a small drip. I get home from Chicago on Thursday the 19th to find that the entire house has been packed. I have exactly three work outfits laid out for the following week, and peanut butter and almonds in the cabinet - which is really good for those mono-unsaturated fats, but where the hell are the pretzel fishies?! That's about it. Everything has not only been packed, but staged in the garage for a quick move. That weekend we get our new appliances, and some other shopping done. Monday the 23rd, my boss is in town, and we're doing another pilot - this time in Chandler - which means I'm once again unavailable for house stuff. Tuesday we close. Wednesday we get the keys, Thursday "we" (being J and my brother) move. Friday and Saturday we un-pack. Sunday we rest. Count the days... we were in escrow for a total of 10 days. 5 of those days I was gone. The details on the house? 2970 sq. ft. on a very nice sized corner lot. 4 bed, 2 1/2 bath. Pebbletech pool, outdoor fireplace and built in grill, courtyard, office for me, lush tropical vegetation, and upgraded tile, granite counters, crown molding, and plantation shutters. And we stole it. Does it get better? I feel like I'm staying at a nice hotel. The best news of the whole thing is that one of the bedrooms is pink and purple, just like Sydni wanted, and she's going to come out in July to spend a week with us. Yay!