10 days! That is all that is left until Josh and I are officially the proud new owners of a 30 year mortgage, lol. I'm so excited to get moved into the new house and its been so much fun picking out new furniture, paint, and house decorations. Josh is thrilled to actually be able to put money into landscaping our OWN yard, instead of one that we're just renting. Honestly, the entire house buying process has been very smooth for us. I've yet to feel the "house hunting stress" many people talk about. The biggest issue that we've come up against was securing house insurance, and even that only took a day thankfully. At first we were only finding high quotes or companies that no longer insure Florida homes. Then we came across a company suggested to us by our realtor that gave us the coverage we were looking for at a great price. I was surprised at the discounts available as well. We received a discount because there is a fire station located 2 miles from the house, the fact that we will have a security system in the home, and because of who built our home. Apparently, the insurance company said that they don't receive many claims from homes built by the building company of our new neighborhood. So that was really nice to hear, as well as having a security system. We knew that we wanted one, but I thought it would cost us more money, but instead it saved us quite a bit of money. So I'm thrilled about that.
Another nice thing about the house, is that the current owners did not paint most of the house. So with the exception of one room that they painted yellow with a monkey border for their baby's nursery, the rest of the walls in the house are white. So we're starting out with a blank canvas :-) I've changed my mind a bunch of times, but I'm pretty sure that we've finally settled on the living room colors anyway, lol. Josh is going to put up a white wainscotting (not sure how to spell that) paneling with a chair rail and the top part of the wall will be red. And then I've decided on chocolate brown couches. I've looked through enough pictures and room ideas and I keep coming back to these colors. So for the living room, I think we're all set. The dining room will share the same coloring since its sort of included with the living room. I've found a table that I really want, I just have to measure the it will fit alright. Its seats 6 people, and then with the leaf 8. I've wanted a larger table for awhile because it'll make entertaining much easier. Now I'll be able to let loose the "martha stewart" in me a bit more formally when we have a dinner party. :-) This years Christmas party is going to be awesome :-)
It other news, we've added a new member to the Grace family :-) Our new Blue Tick Hound, Little Lucy. She is absolutely adorable and Tele is amazed by her. He has been lonely since Penny went to live with Jay and Betty and so he has adjusted to Lucy wonderfully. I was pretty set on getting another Boxer puppy, but when I found Lucy, she stole my heart :-) We researched the breed and found that the personality of the breed was just what we were looking for. She has been a challenge, because we brought her home entirely too early but she is super sweet. She was 5 1/2 weeks old when we got her, so her mental capacity is not up to par yet. So correction hasn't been apart of training her yet, mostly we're just redirecting her focus onto something she is allowed to do. Tele is just about the perfect dog but when he starts to get out of hand, all we have to do is put the squirt bottle on the coffee table and its enough for him to start listening again. We don't have to correct him much anymore because he is pretty good about staying within the rules set for him now. But we've spent a year and a half training him, so Lucy has plenty of time to catch up to him. Lucy has been enthusitically accepted into the family as the newest Granddog, although I've promised the next addition to the Grace family will be a real child. lol. I just want to spend a few months decorating my new house and then we'll see what happens :-)
For the past month, on Saturday mornings, we've been taking Tele to the dog park. He LOVES doing this. The car ride alone is the highlight of his week, but then he gets to run in a field off the leash as much as he wants and there are TONS of other dogs for him to play with. I'm pretty sure its his version of Heaven. lol. Last weekend, Josh took him (I stayed home with Lucy, cause she has to get her shots before she gets to go) and there were 5 boxers at the park along with a couple labs, and even a saint bernard! Tele had a lot of fun and after about an hour of running, jumping, and playing with the other dogs, he was all tuckered out. The summer heat us starting to creep into early mornings, so we don't let him stay at the park much longer than an hour. But after that, my bouncing boxer sleeps most of the day away.
Work is going well for both myself and Josh, later I will have to write a blog about what exactly my job entails. Its very interesting and everyday is something new, I'm really learning a lot. Both Josh and I are incredibly thankful for the jobs that we have and the opportunities that they are providing us. And although I dread the summer heat for the next several months, I'm super excited to enter into yet another new season with my handsome husband and cuddly puppies. :-)
