Thursday we got a call from our loan officer saying that the loan underwriter needs Brian's official 40-hour week paystub at Bridgestone. Salary employees at the Stone get paid the 15th and end of the month, so we won't be closing until June. It has been a very sad few days at the Gunter home. Hopefully everything will work out and we can get our stuff into the house before we close. We have to be out of our apartment by the 31st of May so we are going to be homeless for a little while! Thank goodness for friends and family who have already offered to take us in. I will be fine with living out of boxes for a week or so, as long as we get all of our furniture secured somewhere. This may mean renting a storage facility, but we'll get through it. Just a few more weeks and we'll be all settled in and this will just have been a slight hiccough in our process. Prayers and support are greatly appreciated!
*On another moving note, my college roomie/MOH and her hubby should be landing in about an hour on St. Kitts to begin their Caribbean vet school adventure. Prayers for safe travel and easy settling-in for them as well. Shameless plug for her blog: http://chesnuthouse.wordpress.com/ *
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Older and Wiser
If someone from the present had told the high school me how my life in 2013 would be, I wouldn't have believed them.
Everything was planned to a "T." I was going to TN Tech, then to either Vanderbilt or the University of Kentucky to medical school. I would meet my future husband in college, or even med school, since I was so studious and not interested in settling down soon. I also had a back-up plan, that if I didn't get married out of college, I would do lots and lots and lots of medical missions. I don't really remember where I planned to live, but I was keen on going to TPAC at least once a month to catch a show. Life would be perfect.
Then I was accepted into the Tennessee Governor's School program and met the little town of Martin, TN. A friend turned into more than a friend and we began dating. A professor told me that realistically only 2 or 3 of my classmates would get accepted to medical school, and I realized that he was right. Life was not going to be as I had originally planned. So I made new plans, trying to make the world fit my expectations (because a nineteen-year-old can make the universe do her bidding).
Classes were increasingly more difficult, I realized I wasn't the smartest kid in school, and a lifetime with my boyfriend, who became my fiance, seemed much happier than working myself to death to become a doctor. I explored other options, toying with the idea of becoming a physician's assistant, but that wasn't right either. My senior year of college I was academically devastated. I was miserable in my major, my grades were unmentionable, and there was no career in sight. After all the years of scheming and heartache, something clicked in my head and I finally understood I cannot rely on my plans. I've heard a saying that if you want to hear God laugh, to tell Him your plans. That's what I had been doing my entire life.
I learned that if I work hard, try to take care of myself and Brian, and have a sure faith, I will be provided for. I don't have the highest paying job in the world, but it has been an amazing experience and will ultimately help me reach other career goals. I don't know what is next for my life but I cannot compare myself to friends and classmates who are fulfilling their plans and dreams. It isn't healthy and only makes me more upset, more stressed, and less fulfilled. Perhaps my latest idea to become a lab technician is actually what I'm meant to do, but maybe it's not. Only He knows.
What I do know at the ripe old age of twenty-three, is that I have to trust the Master. I am still very young and I have an entire life to learn and grow. I have learned that mistakes, missed opportunities, and broken plans lead to maturity and wisdom. Here's to tossing my plans out the window and trusting that God will see me home.
Everything was planned to a "T." I was going to TN Tech, then to either Vanderbilt or the University of Kentucky to medical school. I would meet my future husband in college, or even med school, since I was so studious and not interested in settling down soon. I also had a back-up plan, that if I didn't get married out of college, I would do lots and lots and lots of medical missions. I don't really remember where I planned to live, but I was keen on going to TPAC at least once a month to catch a show. Life would be perfect.
Then I was accepted into the Tennessee Governor's School program and met the little town of Martin, TN. A friend turned into more than a friend and we began dating. A professor told me that realistically only 2 or 3 of my classmates would get accepted to medical school, and I realized that he was right. Life was not going to be as I had originally planned. So I made new plans, trying to make the world fit my expectations (because a nineteen-year-old can make the universe do her bidding).
Classes were increasingly more difficult, I realized I wasn't the smartest kid in school, and a lifetime with my boyfriend, who became my fiance, seemed much happier than working myself to death to become a doctor. I explored other options, toying with the idea of becoming a physician's assistant, but that wasn't right either. My senior year of college I was academically devastated. I was miserable in my major, my grades were unmentionable, and there was no career in sight. After all the years of scheming and heartache, something clicked in my head and I finally understood I cannot rely on my plans. I've heard a saying that if you want to hear God laugh, to tell Him your plans. That's what I had been doing my entire life.
I learned that if I work hard, try to take care of myself and Brian, and have a sure faith, I will be provided for. I don't have the highest paying job in the world, but it has been an amazing experience and will ultimately help me reach other career goals. I don't know what is next for my life but I cannot compare myself to friends and classmates who are fulfilling their plans and dreams. It isn't healthy and only makes me more upset, more stressed, and less fulfilled. Perhaps my latest idea to become a lab technician is actually what I'm meant to do, but maybe it's not. Only He knows.
What I do know at the ripe old age of twenty-three, is that I have to trust the Master. I am still very young and I have an entire life to learn and grow. I have learned that mistakes, missed opportunities, and broken plans lead to maturity and wisdom. Here's to tossing my plans out the window and trusting that God will see me home.
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil."--Proverbs 3:7, ESV
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."--James 1:5, ESV
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Moving on Up!
I am very excited to announce that in 23 days (or less!) we Gunters are closing on our first home! :D
Our apartment hunting experience in McMinnville was DREADFUL and I was so afraid we weren't going to find housing. We started the process during Brian's spring break, giving us about 8 weeks until graduation to find somewhere to live. Needless to say, I was beginning to become distressed. That weekend both sets of our parents suggested buying a home.
Buy a house? We don't have enough money to buy a house! Or so I thought...
After thinking about it and looking online at homes, I drove out to Manchester with my mother-in-law to look at one last apartment complex then at some houses that had sparked my interest. I fell in love with two houses: a fixer-upper whose structural bones are exactly what I want in a house and a perfect house that had a hot tub on the back porch! [I know it had a hot tub because I climbed up on the porch to look ;) Don't judge me; I got a splinter for my efforts.]
After lunch we met our realtor, who is Brian's boss's wife! She is awesome and has been so helpful throughout this whole process. During our meeting I found out both homes I liked were off the market; the perfect one had sold the day before. I was a little bummed for a few days because I couldn't find any other homes that I liked that were in our price range. I trimmed down the list of homes Dana (our realtor) had sent me in our price range, then gave the shorter list to Brian. While I was looking at them, I noticed that one of the MLS listing numbers ended in "0609," which is our wedding anniversary! I didn't say anything about the coincidence and I actually didn't give the particular house much thought, because I was still upset about the loss of the other houses.
We compared the four or five houses, thought them over, then called Dana for a viewing appointment. Two houses were basically move-in-ready and two needed some work done (new carpet, wallpaper removed, that kind of thing.) Brian gave me his order of preference, which differed from mine just a bit, but his number one choice was the house with the listing ending with 0609. I couldn't help but think it was fate and we were supposed to end up in that house.
Two days before we were supposed to go view the houses, Dana called me and said that three, not one or two, but THREE of the houses we liked were off the market. What was with our luck? But, the remaining house was the ---0609 listing. Once again, I thought the powers-at-be were at work. She had a couple of others for us to look at, so we wouldn't just have one house to view.
The ---0609 house we viewed first. I loved it... but I didn't want to get too attached due to my prior experience with falling in love with houses. I wasn't really "feeling it" when we saw the other two homes so we decided to go back to the first house. Dana said she heard me sigh when we walked back in. As we went through the rooms again, I was mentally placing our furniture and even thought about where the Christmas tree would go.
Thirty minutes later we were at Dana's office writing up the contract to send to the owners of the house. I had to be at work that afternoon so we went through the paperwork rather quickly and we were headed back to Cookeville. We stopped in McMinnville for lunch and about five minutes after we were back on the road, my phone rang. The owners had verbally accepted our offer!!
We viewed houses on Good Friday, so the banks were closed and I had to get the loan paperwork started the following Monday. Our loan officer is great, also! Thank goodness for Rural Development loans which are geared for first time home buyers--no down payment, 30 years, with 3.5% fixed interest rate! Brian had class so I took all the paperwork home with me, he signed everything, and we sent it back to the bank. Friday (4/5) we had our home inspection and everything is perfect! We have everything finished on our end and are waiting on the underwriters. Our set closing date is May 2, but there is a chance they can finish before then since everything is done! I cannot wait to start painting and move all of our things to the house. We plan on moving in the night of Brian's graduation, Saturday, May 11. Happy days!
♥ Happy 10 months of marriage to us today! :)
Our apartment hunting experience in McMinnville was DREADFUL and I was so afraid we weren't going to find housing. We started the process during Brian's spring break, giving us about 8 weeks until graduation to find somewhere to live. Needless to say, I was beginning to become distressed. That weekend both sets of our parents suggested buying a home.
Buy a house? We don't have enough money to buy a house! Or so I thought...
After thinking about it and looking online at homes, I drove out to Manchester with my mother-in-law to look at one last apartment complex then at some houses that had sparked my interest. I fell in love with two houses: a fixer-upper whose structural bones are exactly what I want in a house and a perfect house that had a hot tub on the back porch! [I know it had a hot tub because I climbed up on the porch to look ;) Don't judge me; I got a splinter for my efforts.]
After lunch we met our realtor, who is Brian's boss's wife! She is awesome and has been so helpful throughout this whole process. During our meeting I found out both homes I liked were off the market; the perfect one had sold the day before. I was a little bummed for a few days because I couldn't find any other homes that I liked that were in our price range. I trimmed down the list of homes Dana (our realtor) had sent me in our price range, then gave the shorter list to Brian. While I was looking at them, I noticed that one of the MLS listing numbers ended in "0609," which is our wedding anniversary! I didn't say anything about the coincidence and I actually didn't give the particular house much thought, because I was still upset about the loss of the other houses.
We compared the four or five houses, thought them over, then called Dana for a viewing appointment. Two houses were basically move-in-ready and two needed some work done (new carpet, wallpaper removed, that kind of thing.) Brian gave me his order of preference, which differed from mine just a bit, but his number one choice was the house with the listing ending with 0609. I couldn't help but think it was fate and we were supposed to end up in that house.
Two days before we were supposed to go view the houses, Dana called me and said that three, not one or two, but THREE of the houses we liked were off the market. What was with our luck? But, the remaining house was the ---0609 listing. Once again, I thought the powers-at-be were at work. She had a couple of others for us to look at, so we wouldn't just have one house to view.
The ---0609 house we viewed first. I loved it... but I didn't want to get too attached due to my prior experience with falling in love with houses. I wasn't really "feeling it" when we saw the other two homes so we decided to go back to the first house. Dana said she heard me sigh when we walked back in. As we went through the rooms again, I was mentally placing our furniture and even thought about where the Christmas tree would go.
Thirty minutes later we were at Dana's office writing up the contract to send to the owners of the house. I had to be at work that afternoon so we went through the paperwork rather quickly and we were headed back to Cookeville. We stopped in McMinnville for lunch and about five minutes after we were back on the road, my phone rang. The owners had verbally accepted our offer!!
We viewed houses on Good Friday, so the banks were closed and I had to get the loan paperwork started the following Monday. Our loan officer is great, also! Thank goodness for Rural Development loans which are geared for first time home buyers--no down payment, 30 years, with 3.5% fixed interest rate! Brian had class so I took all the paperwork home with me, he signed everything, and we sent it back to the bank. Friday (4/5) we had our home inspection and everything is perfect! We have everything finished on our end and are waiting on the underwriters. Our set closing date is May 2, but there is a chance they can finish before then since everything is done! I cannot wait to start painting and move all of our things to the house. We plan on moving in the night of Brian's graduation, Saturday, May 11. Happy days!
♥ Happy 10 months of marriage to us today! :)
Saturday, February 9, 2013
The Joys of Renting an Apartment
Last week Brian had an interview with Bridgestone and was given an offer...apparently one he couldn't refuse! So, we are moving to McMinnville! (Or Manchester or Morrison, but regardless, we're moving!) We plan on buying about five acres of land and building our dream home, complete with as Brian says, "wrap around porch and floppy ear'd dog." I have been planning and scheming and dreaming for our new home. While doing so I thought of a rather extensive list of things I'm definitely not going to miss about renting. Enjoy.
What I'm Not Going To Miss About Tech Village/Renting:
What I'm Not Going To Miss About Tech Village/Renting:
- mold that never seems to stop growing from the bathroom ceiling
- the annoying bathroom fan that is wired to the light switch (meaning I canNOT turn it off)
- the equally annoyingly loud refrigerator
- the broken door handle on the refrigerator
- the pool of water that constantly builds up in the refrigerator
- the refrigerator
- cinder. block. walls. ... seriously.
- ridiculous electric bill in the summer due to said cinder block walls
- no insulation
- tile floors
- the super janky laundry room with its less-than-satisfactory washers
- laundry room idiots
- the sketchiest and most unreliable Internet access ever
- no overhead lights in the living room
- poor lighting everywhere else
- one electric outlet per room
- the front door that never wants to close
- unlocking the front door is more difficult than Frodo destroying the Ring
- the only TV channels are the major networks, G4, MTVU, VH1, and an obscure sports channel
- four square feet of counter space (technically not even that much-the space is 23x22 inches)
- the baby stove
- and many more random little "perks"
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
October
The first week of October, I had "associate on-boarding" at Bath and Body Works. I am a seasonal temp worker at the Cookeville BBW! Including my training days I have worked four days total and I don't think I've done too much damage. I'm doing fairly well at my first EVER job. It only took me twenty-two years on God's beautiful earth for me to land my first job, but here we are. I think I will like it pretty well. I am getting faster at ringing people up at the cash wrap and I'm gaining more confidence to approach customers and provide them with assistance. I found out this morning that I did make a pretty big boo-boo yesterday but I won't find out how mad they are at me until my next work day (I was off today!) I'm glad I'm gaining some experience so that whenever Brian graduates and we move, I will have something besides education on my resume. It's all about making yourself look better, right? Haha! Even though I've only technically worked two days, I think this will be a fun job. It's not something I'd want to do forever but it's definitely okay for now. I wouldn't mind working there until May, but they aren't looking to hire people after Christmas. Bummer.
This past weekend the whole Gunter family trekked up the mountains to a cabin above Pigeon Forge. There is no possible way Brian or I could have driven one of our cars! The drive was so steep and gravelly! The view was pretty awesome. I wish more of the trees in my line of sight were in their full fall spectacular, but it was still amazing. The only downfall of the weekend was the cockroach invasion! My sister-in-law was ready to leave the place Saturday morning, so Jordan, Rhonda, Jaren, Brian and I went down the mountain (less scary in the daylight) to Pigeon Forge proper and had some fun on the go-carts. Go-carts are fun if you get a fast one, but not so much when your car is the absolute slowest one on the planet. I am not kidding. Brian and I rode together and Jordan and Jaren rode together and they nearly lapped us our car was so slow. I guess that was karma for Brian having the fastest when we drove singles ;)
Here are a few more pictures from the photo challenge. Since I haven't updated, I did several to catch up.
This past weekend the whole Gunter family trekked up the mountains to a cabin above Pigeon Forge. There is no possible way Brian or I could have driven one of our cars! The drive was so steep and gravelly! The view was pretty awesome. I wish more of the trees in my line of sight were in their full fall spectacular, but it was still amazing. The only downfall of the weekend was the cockroach invasion! My sister-in-law was ready to leave the place Saturday morning, so Jordan, Rhonda, Jaren, Brian and I went down the mountain (less scary in the daylight) to Pigeon Forge proper and had some fun on the go-carts. Go-carts are fun if you get a fast one, but not so much when your car is the absolute slowest one on the planet. I am not kidding. Brian and I rode together and Jordan and Jaren rode together and they nearly lapped us our car was so slow. I guess that was karma for Brian having the fastest when we drove singles ;)
Here are a few more pictures from the photo challenge. Since I haven't updated, I did several to catch up.
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| 2. Pure White--my work shirts |
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| 3. Smile--a favorite photo on nightstand |
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| 4. Hat--from a raffle at UTM |
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| 5. Love--Our marriage certificate |
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| 6. Indulgence--pizza gone |
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| 7. Diva |
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| 8. Flowers |
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| 9. Postcard |
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Photo Challenge
Long time, no post... I remember sitting down at the computer the first of August to write, but I had nothing new to say. Each day is a blessing, but if it weren't for church service and Brian going to school, I'd have nothing to break up the monotony. I've been somewhat busy planning my parents' not-such-a-surprise 25th anniversary party. It's next Sunday and I'm pretty excited for my first real experience as a hostess. Next weekend is Jon and Jessi's wedding in which I'm honored to be a bridesmaid. They have been together forever it seems and I'm so happy for them that they are finally tying the knot! After their wedding, I should be off bridesmaid duty for quite a while, so that's a relief, haha!
In other news, today marks 37 days until fall break, when the Gunter family is going to Pigeon Forge!
With all that out of the way, I'll get to the meat of the post. Since I don't have any knowledge or hilarity to share, I'm going to do a photography challenge. I've been doing photo-a-day challenges on Instagram with my iPod Touch, but I'd like to also get some practice in with my Canon. The challenge I'm going to try first comes from divasanddreamsblog.com. I found it on *drum roll please* Pinterest! I won't do a daily post, but I'll try to do at least 1-2 per week. As pictured below, #1 is "high heels." Enjoy!
In other news, today marks 37 days until fall break, when the Gunter family is going to Pigeon Forge!
With all that out of the way, I'll get to the meat of the post. Since I don't have any knowledge or hilarity to share, I'm going to do a photography challenge. I've been doing photo-a-day challenges on Instagram with my iPod Touch, but I'd like to also get some practice in with my Canon. The challenge I'm going to try first comes from divasanddreamsblog.com. I found it on *drum roll please* Pinterest! I won't do a daily post, but I'll try to do at least 1-2 per week. As pictured below, #1 is "high heels." Enjoy!
#1: High Heels
Monday, July 23, 2012
Hey, Good Lookin'
"Whatchya got cookin'?"For as long as I can remember, I have always felt the need to be in the kitchen creating things. When I was younger I would beg my mother and grandmother to let me watch them as they cooked and baked. In high school I got to do a little bit of the cooking to help Momma with the household duties. This came in handy in college at the COCSC where several of my comrades told me I was a good cook. Didn't hurt in snagging my man, either, ;)
I follow the idea of great chef Gusteau from the Disney movie Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook." The elaborate, exquiste dishes that can be tasted at high class restaurants may challenging to create for a less talented person, but other than that, I believe that given a recipe and the proper ingredients, tools, and patience, a delicious meal will result. --Aside on the recipe statement: I don't always measure everything precisely with a spoon, cup, etc. I like to "eye ball it" as Rachael Ray says. Some people I know, ahem husband and old roomie, are so meticulous with measurements it almost drives me crazy, haha! Back to the point... So, if you tell me, 'Oh, this is great! You're a good cook!' I'll most likely reply with, 'Thanks, but it's not hard. You just follow the recipe.'
However, I do enjoy cooking quite a bit, and more than that, EATING. Hence the previous post of the diet. It's been so hard to not eat everything in the cabinets. Pinterest doesn't help either. I've pinned so many scrumptious-looking goodies that I plan on making for family get-togethers and church potlucks. The problem is I want to make them now. So I have. Fortunately, though, I decided to experiment with some recipes that look healthier than most. The wonderfully talented Chocolate Covered Katie has a blue million recipes but I chose to make one of her baked oatmeal recipes, Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal Bars! (found here) I mulitplied the recipe by 4 in hopes that I'd like it and to eat them this week for breakfast. Verdict? They're very yummy and only about 200 calories! I hadn't eaten yet today when I tried one, but when I did I wasn't hungry anymore. I see these becoming a regular on the breakfast menu. I plan on widening my tastes and trying the other varieties, as well.
Aren't they beautiful? And so good!
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