Sunday Scramble/Musings of the Week

I am once again participating in Sunday Scramble, hosted by Justine of Stupid is as Sister Does. I love this because I get to be random, and try to sum up my week in one post.


I was going to post my second Valentine's Day tablescape this week for Tablescape Thursday, and also use it for Pink Saturday, but this was a crazy week and I didn't get it done. Here is a sneak peek.


I had a week of insane insomnia! I just could not sleep. No one else in the household seemed to have any trouble sleeping though. Ignore the messy house in these pics, please!

The dog slept.


My son Jared slept.


My son Sean slept...with his brand new guitar in his lap. The pic is still in his mouth. Heh!


And my son and the dog slept!

Just an aside...I hate that ugly floral couch. It was all I could afford when I moved to this town and it was only $65. It is supposed to be covered by the denim slipcover all the time, which makes it look pretty darn good. However, the boys don't really care how my couch looks. Grrr! I suppose I'll cherish these times while I can because someday I'll have the perfect looking house because I'll have an empty nest, and then I'll wish for the days of the ugly couch!

I belong to a couple dating sites. Recently, men with the nicknames "Nipplebender" and "Nude Greg" have contacted me. Greggie even had a pic from the waist up...hairy and nekkid and hefty. Needless to say, I did not reply. Though I was tempted. Just kidding, of course...but not about these men actually writing to me.

Part of the reason for my insomnia is that I have been actively apartment/house/duplex hunting. The beautiful duplex that I wanted so badly went to someone else, as they did not want me to have pets. Waaah! It was a little pricey for me though, but had some of the features I had always dreamed of. Maybe someday. Here is a picture of another favorite place: a three bedroom, two full bath townhouse in an apartment complex...at $200 cheaper! But we have to qualify as low income. I'll know if we are approved by mid-week.

I love this big kitchen. No dishwasher though, but I could get a portable one.


The second reason for my insomnia is that I signed off on my house in my old hometown. This poor house has sat vacant for three years. My children and I lived in it for 14 years. At the time I bought it, I was married. It was completely remodeled about 12 years ago, and I really loved the place. However, the contractors were not very good, and didn't finish off some things because we ran out of money, and they did a very poor job on the roof of my boys' room.


I used to really love my blue kitchen. I picked out the cupboards and designed the kitchen myself to make better use of the space. (The builders left my ex to finish up this pass through...he didn't know how to do it. Argh!)

My fridge was tucked into that nook to the right.


Please ignore the cleaning supplies on the counter in these and the following pics!

I also loved my pink bathroom, which I also designed. It was barely functional as it was before we gutted it from top to bottom.



Sadly, the builders didn't do a proper job on the roof over my boys' room (another room that had been totally gutted from the floor to the roof), and I didn't realize that water was coming in until a couple years later when it was too late to go back on the company. The idiots put the edge of the roof flush with the side of the house! Idiots. Where was Holmes on Homes when I needed him?


It makes me sick, sick, sick to see how it deteriorated over the years, lowering the value of my home significantly.(It was not like this when we still lived there.) The worst thing is that I tried to get a loan to fix these problems before I began searching for a new place to live, but because I had paid off my vehicle and my home, I wasn't building credit. No one would loan me the $12K I needed, but later I was able to borrow $100K to buy a house! Go figure.

This was the outside wall. Again, it makes me sick, and embarrasses me to show them to you.

However, I did find some beauty in this perfect tiger lily against the rustic background.


So what did I get for my three bedroom plus landing, one bath home with main floor laundry room, family room and big living room, and on a double lot?

Nothing.

I sold it for what I owed on back taxes and a lien, and closing costs, which added up to around $3800. That's one-tenth of what I put into this house, but with all of the things that were going wrong with it, a fair price in that neighborhood with the condition of the home. Heck, there were four replacement windows in that house that I paid about that same amount for!

At any rate, I am really grateful to the couple that bought it as they are going to fix it up and make it livable again and rent it to their daughter. I am very happy that it is going to be full of life again and well cared for.

I hope this next week is a little less crazy.