I never thought I was a control freak, but I am beginning to think I am. My work and home life has been out of control for several weeks, and its really starting to get to me. Somehow my desk has become a dumping ground for stuff my attorneys need, but don’t want to keep in their offices. Need to figure that out as I hate a messy work area, and was so looking forward to moving into new digs where I could start from scratch on a clean new desk. Hopefully that will resolve itself in the next couple weeks, but I just want to cry when I turn the corner and see all the boxes piled in, on, around and under my desk.
In other news, Hannah and Jacob will not be moving out as planned. They were working with a lender, who got fired after the first couple weeks they were working with him, but the owner of this lending company took over their loan. The kids qualified for a local county first home buyers grant which would grant them $7500, which would basically cover all their closing costs, attorneys fees, etc.
Their closing was supposed to be tomorrow, but the lender called two days ago to let them know that because of their anticipated student loans (which they haven’t started repaying yet, since they are still taking classes), they no longer qualified for the first time grant, but not to worry, they would just have to bring $8003 to closing and everything will go as planned. They already had a $4000 nest egg going into the closing, but that was their safety net money. The lender kept saying “don’t you have family that will give you $8000?” But they are adament about doing this all on their own, so they will be with me for a while longer.
If you know Hannah personally, you know she’s an organizing freak, and a planner on top of that. For the past several weeks I’ve not been able to use my dining room or half my living room, because that’s where all their boxes of stuff for the move was going. It seems chaos is all around me, and I have to somehow not let it bother me because I know it’s only temporary. I am still happy the kids are going to be with me – but let’s face it, I am extra happy that the dogs will be with me for a while longer too!
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I think its BS that I have to wear a winter coat to work in May.
I had some time to kill before getting on the train and treated myself to some coffee. Have you guys heard of this coffee before? It’s really good – $2.90 for a large.
I kicked my breakfast parfait up a notch and added 1/2 a Premier protein bar to my parfait. I swear there is Chobani under there! Chobani (2), banana and strawberry (0) and half the protien bar chopped up like mini baby snicker croutons – I swear that’s just what it tastes like to me (4). This kept me full for a long time too.
My sister and I got our walking shoes on and headed to the Riverwalk. Jacky, I had to laugh at your Instagram pics because I think we must have passed you without knowing it – seems you were there around the same time we were. On Wednesday’s they open the bridges so that boats can get to the marina out of winter storage. There were about seven boast with tall masts waiting to get through.
I had made pork to make a sandwich that I cooked off the night before last. I left it on the pan to cool, then never came back into the kitchen to put it away. I had every intention of getting a cup of soup at Hannah’s Bretzel, but none of the soups sounded good (except maybe the avocado pea – that one ingrigued me) so I went with what they called an “angry tofu sandwich.” The only thing about this sandwich was that the bread was delicious but the rest of it made me angry. Why did I think putting tofu on a sandwich was going to be a good thing? In a stir fry – totally get that. But this was too much the same texture. I ate the top bun and the tofu separately, and ate the veggies I brought. I called lunch 7 points for what I ate.
I am night secretary on Wednesday’s, and at 4:30 no one signed up so I thought I would have to stay late. At 4:45 I got an email from the office manager scheduling two hours with an attorney. So I didn’t get home until 9:00 p.m. But, I came home to some popcorn loot! Everyone in Chicago knows Garrett’s popcorn, but I guess this popcorn company has been around since the 1890s! They sent me a gift box to try out their popcorn, gave me a couple movies, a throw blanket and even a box of tissues if I happen to be watching a sappy movie! If you’ve never had “The Mix” it’s the best of both worlds – combination of cheese popcorn and caramel popcorn – its that sweet and salty combo that is perfection. I haven’t scanned the bags yet to get the points yet, but I’ll be sharing this with the kadults.
I had every intetion of cooking off the rest of the pork that I had in the fridge and steaming some green beans, but the kids had just ordered pizza and Hannah said “Mom, I got you some with pepperoni” and that was that. I had 17 points going into dinner, so I am not going to worry about it. Probably not the best meal to eat the night before weigh in though!
I am on the early train to meet up with my sister for our Weekly WI. Again, no idea how I will do. I didn’t eat that much last weekend because I really didn’t have an appetite, so we’ll see.
Question of the Day: Do you consider yourself a control freak? Curious!
Make it a great day!
I’m a control freak too, everything has to be in the right place where I can find it. My desk is always clean at work and empty when I leave at the end of the day. I work with lists at work and at home. It always feels good to cross things off the list that you’ve completed.
Tell Hannah & Jacob to NOT be discouraged–I’m a true believer in what’s meant to be will find a way. When my husband & I were out house-hunting, we LOVED the FIRST house we looked at but didn’t feel “comfortable” jumping on the first thing we saw–we should “look around” first. Well, NOTHING compared to that first house–turned out the owners already accepted an offer on it. So disappointed and wanting to kick ourselves. Two days later, our realtor called–“Do you want that house? The deal fell through.” US = “HELL YES!!” We have lived here 10 years and we LOVE it. They will find “their” house when the time is right and it’ll be the one MEANT for them! Plus, living at home a while longer isn’t bad either! Save up more $$$ in the meantime! Good Luck!!
That’s an awesome story! I do believe that this was a blessing in disguise – and I agree, more time to save more $$!
::raises hand:: Control freak here. I’d at least be stacking all the boxes that the attorneys are putting in your office in a corner, preferably behind me where I couldn’t see them, until I could figure out where they need to go.
Rough start to homeownership for Hannah and Jacob but hopefully this means the next time everything will go perfectly – they deserve that.
I am hoping to find a “home” for the boxes today – wish me luck!
It’s a good life lesson though – things don’t always work out the way you planned, but it’s how you react to those bumps in the road that makes all the difference. They are fine with how things worked out, and now have a better understanding of the whole process.
That is such a bummer about their loan, sorry to hear it. I hate having clutter around, so I feel for you having boxes everywhere.
I am hoping today it will not be as busy and I can tackle the clutter. Even if I had one hour to dedicate to it, would be such an improvement!
Bummed for Hannah. It seems when I hear about these types of issues its always with a mortgage company. I would try a traditional bank or credit union, they seem to have a better understanding of the regulations.
Yep, I think we will go that route. I don’t know if this lender was recommended by the realtor (which sometimes they get kickbacks if the loan goes through) but I know something will work out eventually!
Control freak? YES! Can’t stand other people’s clutter, but somehow can ignore my own. Ha!
Garrett’s is the best popcorn ever. Love love the combo (cheese & caramel). Now I am drooling.
My control-freaky comment about the blog – love your blog but it drives me nuts that the comments are at the TOP. After I read, want to comment (at the bottom, where I already am) instead of having to go all the way back up to the top.
Your WW journey is inspiring, so thanks for sharing it!
I had to laugh because you are not the first person to mention the comments button on the top – drives me nuts too, but it’s a template – I need to find one that has the comments on the bottom 😀 There is a Garrett’s popcorn place in the train station AND a block from my office. I’ve always said I could eat a 12 course meal, but if I smell popcorn, I want it!
So, I’m TOTALLY a control freak and I can FEEL it when my life is out of control.
Sorry about the house for Hannah, but good on her for sticking to her guns about doing this herself. She’s still young, and there’s plenty of time to save up, finish school, pay off loans, and qualify for that grant.
Brr. 35? That’s kind of cold. Hitting the 80s here, a bit too hot for me. But finally it’s cooling down.
I agree, I do get the “feeling” that things are out of whack too. I was 28 when I moved out of my parents house the second time after I had Hannah. While that seemed so “old” at the time, I don’t regret the 5 years I lived with my parents when Hannah was little because Hannah has such memories of her grandpa that no other grandchild has.
I am a list maker and I tend to fixate on things sometimes – I eventually get stuff done but it does pile up. My house is SO CLUTTERED – it was my new year’s resolution this year to declutter the house and I’ve got a long way to go. We’re slowly but surely getting stuff done in the house – we got two new toilets this week and that was exciting!
That popcorn is the bomb and is addictive – be careful! They sell it at Costco.
Well B, if you ever need someone to help you declutter, Hannah is your person. She does houses in Lake Barrington and Barrington – but she’s a bit ruthless. She’ll make you get rid of stuff if you hesitate, even if you haven’t used that item for six months! She charges $20 an hour, but it’s totally worth it.
She organized my friends basement in six hours, which my friend had been trying to clean up for over two years!
I ate a couple hand fulls of the Mix yesterday and quickly gave it to the adults. I could have eaten the whole bag!
Oh my…… can you ship Hannah to Florida!? I need someone to declutter my spare bedroom. I keep trying to work on it a little bit at a time, but its feeling hopeless! It bothers me to no end too… but I work a lot of hours, so its hard to get to it.
Man, I feel bad for Hanna and Jacob. The same thing happened with our buyer, she was young and was coming in on some type of grant. The day after she signed off on her loan contingencies, her lender dropped her. The only way to save her deal was for my realtor to find her a new lender and everyone( us, her agent, our agent and the lender) kicked in another 1k in closing costs. We’d already given her 5k for closing, so I wasnt happy. If we didnt do that, we would not have been able to buy the house we signed a contract on, so we had no choice. I hope H and J havent signed off on their loan contingencies.
Nope, and they actually got their earnest money back too. It will all work out eventually. While I had already pictured what it would be like to live alone, I am secretly happy they will be with me a while longer. And the dogs of course! 😀
Yes, I want to be a control freak but my life does not let me control any parts of it…. But here is one thing I am trying to control. I am heading back to Chicago with my son tomorrow afternoon (I live in northern CA) and am trying to figure out how cold it really is right now in the windy city. My sense of cold is different since I live in a very mild climate. I travel to Chicago each year for work and it is one of my favorite US cities to visit (which is how I found you) and I am stumped with the May cold. I was there a week ago and it was amazingly beautiful. I am bringing my 16 year old son along with me for work and am trying to figure out what to pack for the week (Insert need to control here)? Thoughts?
Well, in the mornings its been in the low 40s, and with the wind, can feel like 30, so I’ve been wearing my winter coat to work in the morning. However, by lunch it is in the 50’s and I have been okay walking with a fleece jacket. It’s definitely not shorts weather yet, but I would pack long sleeve shirts. Sorry I am just replying to this now – hope this helps!
Another control freak weighing in. Sad face for Hannah but it will work out in the end and it is wonderful they are determined to do this all on their own. Popcorn loot, YUM!
Um, the cheese/caramel popcorn is amazing. I had a couple hand fulls last night and gave the rest to the kids – too tempting to eat the whole bag!
Control freak, weighing in.
I’m so sorry for Hannah and Jacob. I hope they aren’t too heartbroken, although I would be. The right house at the right time will come along and this will be a good story to tell. But maybe not today.
They were upset for a couple days, because they kept posting on Instagram “only SIX more days until our move!” But I’ve told them things happen for a reason, and it will all work out eventually.
Total control freak. But as I’ve aged, I’m learning it’s best to let things go sometimes. You’ll be calmer and happier when you realize there ARE things you just cannot control.
Yep, I just take a deep breath every time I come home and see my dining room full of boxes as well as my desk. I know it’s only temporary 😀