My A+ Day

All I really need to know... I learned in kindergarten.

~ Robert Fulghum 

I've officially marked Feb. 21, 2011 as an "A+" day in my record book.


I spent most of the morning worrying. And it all boiled down to this: Last year, about this time, B and I started talking about how we would really like to be all moved into an apartment before the wedding, so that when we came home from our honeymoon we could settle in, unwrap gifts, and enjoy married life. I nagged specifically asked that he be sure to talk with his current apartment complex before signing another lease. "It'd be great if you could sign a lease that was up by June, at the latest," I said, thinking of our June 11th wedding date.


A few weeks later, we had a conversation that went a little something like this:


B: "So, I signed my new lease!"
Me: "Okay, great, so what'd they say?"
B: "Um, that I could sign my lease."
Me: "But weren't you going to ask them something?"
B: "If I could sign my lease?"
Me: "About signing a shorter one?"
B: "Oh. Well, it's up in July."
Me: (pause) "Oh, okay."


For the past year, I tried to view this conversation as another glimpse into married life. But I was absolutely dreading laying on the beach in Hawaii--okay, I was never dreading laying on the beach in Hawaii--and knowing that three days after getting back, we'd be moving. I hate moving. Blech.


Okay, so fast forward to about last weekend, when we'd found a great apartment, and my stress level about all the things that surround a wedding had been growing steadily. Although B still said it didn't stress him out to think about moving after the honeymoon (I don't believe him), we kept talking about how it really would be nice to move earlier in the spring.


However, there were two obstacles:
1) He is (obviously) still under his lease until July. And, after talking to some people, and looking up info online, most apartment complexes charge astronomical fees if you even hint towards moving out before the end of your contract. Although we hadn't spoken with his complex yet, I was expecting the worst.
2) Um, money. We knew that we could afford an apartment, especially by later in the spring/summer when I'm subbing more, tutoring more, nannying... but it just felt risky to make such a financial commitment.


Alright, so, you've probably forgotten by now that I hooked you into reading this post by promising a story of an "A+" day. I didn't lie, I promise. Here it comes...


At about 4:40pm on Monday, I got a call from the Superintendent of HR at a local school district, offering me an interview for a teaching position starting immediately. That's right, immediately! I was over-the-moon excited, and said yes, of course, I'd interview the next day!


At about 4:50pm on Monday, B heard back from his apartment complex, and without going into the nitty-gritty, we are free-and-clear when it comes to moving early!

WOOOOO-HOOOOO!!!!!!

Needless to say, I was all smiles.


It got even better, though, when I went to my interview the next day...


... and they offered me the job on the spot!


So, that's right, ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at (er, reading the writing of) a brand-new...


Kindergarten teacher!

The Waiting Game

Where thou art - that - is Home.  

~Emily Dickinson 

Our most recent marriage-preparation task has been searching for our future home. We've decided to go the apartment route for the first few years while we save for a house. 


I know, I know. Right now, you want to ask: Do we realize that this is a great time to buy a house? Don't we want the extra space? Why are we willing to throw money away every month on rent, when we could be paying a mortgage? These are the questions we get nearly every day from concerned friends and family. What do I wish I could say to them? Mind your own business. What do I actually say to them? While we might have enough savings for a down-payment, since I don't have a teaching job yet we're not comfortable making that kind of commitment.


We began our apartment search with two-bedroom apartments. But after looking over our budget once again, we decided that in order to be able to pay rent, utilities, feed ourselves, and still put money away for a house, we should probably be looking at one-bedrooms. At first, I was a little disappointed. I had already mentally-decorated our guest room/home office, and didn't want to give up my purple-and-yellow themed space (we're MN Vikings fans!). And, although I'm still a little nervous about keeping our master bathroom clean enough for visitors, I've come around to the idea of snuggling up in a smaller space together and making it our own.


We've narrowed it down to two apartment complexes. For the sake of the Internet safety that I preach to my students at school, I won't tell you the name or location, but they are both in the KC area. B loves his job, and we forsee free baby-sitting from our parents, if we stay in the area.


Here are the floorplans for our two favorites:

 

As you can see, in this floor plan, we love the kitchen. The island in the center has a ton of storage underneath, and creates a nice, open space into the living and dining area. The cabinets are modern (and pretty!), and it's a flat-top stove. However, I really dislike having the washer/dryer in the kitchen. I know it's hard to find a one-bedroom apartment set up any differently (just wait!), but somehow dragging stinky gym clothes through the kitchen is not too appetizing.

I also really like the huge closet in this floor plan. As I told B, there's plenty of room for me to have one side, and half of his side :-) 

This floor plan (which was harder to edit in Photoshop), is actually the one we're leaning towards. We love the "L-shaped" patio, the huge living room, and the separate laundry room. The downsides are the smaller kitchen, a really ugly light fixture in the dining area, and gross folding closet doors. Luckily, the latter two are easily remedied, and the dining area is large enough for a hutch to create some extra storage.


The other interesting thing about this second floor plan is the difference a first floor or second floor apartment makes. We originally really wanted a first floor apartment. As a matter of fact, in floor plan #1 (above), we would definitely want a first floor apartment, since we could let Delilah out from our back door. However, in this floor plan, the bottom floor has low ceilings with a huge beam across the middle of the living room. Yuck. But the top floor has huge, vaulted ceilings, and incredible natural light. B and I have decided that it's worth the extra calorie-burn to take D down and up a flight of stairs every time she has to go potty.


Neither of these apartment complexes is willing to hold an apartment for us until July (how rude!), so we are in the process of waiting to go on their waiting list. I've never been good at waiting (what can I say, I'm Generation Instant Gratification), and it's killing me to not know for sure where we'll be creating our future home.