I am an HGTV addict...

Yes, Stephen, it's true....oh woe is me....alas and alack....I am not only a CARB addict, but also an HGTV addict.  I know, I know, it's a tragedy to admit such a thing, but it's the truth and I cannot hide it any longer.

I cannot help but turn on the HGTV channel when nobody else is around, to watch what I like to watch, (which is whatever I actually LEARN something from), and when it comes to being 42 years old and female, well, I'm in my stupid NESTING PHASE of life.  So be it, I have no choice but to be addicted.

I have never done it myself, but I know how to tile a bathroom wall, floor and kitchen backsplash, just from watching those shows! Are you impressed?! You'd BETTER be!!  (Bet YOU can't do it, ya smart-ass).  Don't be tryin' to sound all smart and stuff, Mister, you might have a TINY BIT of experience in those things, but I betcha I can paint a room much faster than YOU can.  So nyah on your gnarly butt. (I am, of course, ignoring the fact that you can afford to hire others to do that stuff FOR you, so Do-It-Yourself projects probably are NOT on your priority list in life).  But STILL...I'd run circles around ya doing all that stuff, if we had a contest.  And bucko, I would WIN too!!  (*insert tongue sticking out*).

Yes, I'm afraid this addiction and nesting phase dilemma has taken over my daily life.  I have already purchased wallpaper border and matching curtains for the dining room and kitchen of the new house we haven't even made an offer on, or have a mortgage FOR, yet.  Silly.  Assanine really.  But, it's something even Pete is falling victim to---maybe it's contagious...he's already decided he wants to install a pot rack above the island in the kitchen!  He's even becoming an Ebay addict lately, buying huge posters to put up in his "new office at the house."  So, we're both going through this "nesting phase," apparently, and it's simply bizzare, to say the least.

Don't worry, I've saved the receipt for the curtains and wallpaper border, but I've already picked out paint sample colors too...I really am a goner.  If you know of any 12-step programs to join for this addiction, please let me know.  I just signed up, as a matter of fact, to be "HGTV'd" for a make over of the bathroom of this new house that we DO NOT OWN YET...that's how bad this addiction really is.  I figured, by the time they get around to choosing a winner, figure a month or two from now, we should be living in that house by then (hopefully), so I sent them photos of the bathroom with our ideas of expanding it and adding a tub underneath the sky light...yes, it's terrible, I know...what if they call me and we aren't living there yet? Worse, what if someone ELSE buys the house out from under us, while we're in the process of trying to get a mortgage?! That scares me a LOT....we've got our hearts set on this stupid house dammit, so nobody better try to take it before we do.   Seriously, I would be devastated.

I've already compiled a 3-ring binder full of photos of every room of that house, and written down the ideas to decorate each room!!  That's how horrible this addiction can be.  It just makes a person do silly things like this, even though the house belongs to someone else at the moment.  It's utterly ridiculous, there is no logic whatsoever, and yet we still continue talking about how we're going to convert the barn into a party palace and guest house, and Pete wants to make it a "kinky bed and breakfast," (but I do not share in his plans for that idea...I'm not cleaning up kinky messes for NOBODY, unless I am a participant!!!)

So, we've gone to another open house, last weekend actually, just to take another walk through and notice things we hadn't noticed before.  We've been there 3 times so far.  I take more pictures every time, I notice stuff that might need some updating, or fixing, I worry about the roof...I saw huge icicles hanging from it last weekend, and that signals that the roof doesn't have much insulation.  So things like that are being added to our list of home improvements and will help with negotiating the sale price.

We've got a TON of money to put down as a down payment on it, Pete's been selling off Apple stock when it hits nearly $350 a share...(and if you don't already own some, good LORD man, get on the ball and GET SOME, because the price is a bit low right now)...Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence so the stock went down a bit---so definitely buy some Apple stock NOW, because it's going to sky rocket in price soon when the new stuff comes out...seriously...just some friendly stock market advice from yer ole buddy Beck.  Don't know why I'm trying to make a filthy rich person even richer, but what the hell, I kinda like ya.

So we've got a good healty chunk-a-change just sitting in the bank, waiting.  The financial advisor we hired is currently working on cleaning up our credit reports, removing mistakes and old stuff that no longer pertains to our current situation, etc., so that should be done by the end of this month. We hope to start mortgage shopping in February. We hope to move in to the new house by the end of March.  That's our prayer, and our ideal scenario, at least.  So, when you decide to come visit, we'll have plenty of room!!  (Ahhhh yes, I'm such a hopeless dreamer. That's another flaw in my character unfortunately).

Well, I'm off to the psychiatrist with Florence...she's really a nutball, and I don't know how to help her. She was adamant and convinced that Pete was her FATHER last night, and how dare her own FATHER go off and marry ME, when her MOTHER has just DIED...she was appalled...and she swore up and down that she didn't even attend the wedding and didn't come here because SHE wanted to, but we MADE her come here, and dammit she wants to go HOME.  Great googa-mooga, she's nuts.  She won't listen when you correct her..."No darlin', Pete is not your father, he's your SON..." she'll just shake her head no, like YOU'RE the one who's crazy, and she'll get more and more upset if you argue.

Alzheimers sucks the big hairy balls of life.  It really does.  I hope you never have to deal with it with anyone you love.  She's like this energy vampire, sucking the life right out of everybody around her, and she's also a terrible attention whore who stole 2 hours from Pete's evening last night (when he needed to work from home for awhile, he was assigned 26 "bugs" to fix yesterday and was stressing out), so he was up very late after that, trying to get more done after her episode of insanity.

Okay bub, I'm taking her to the shrink, and then we'll go drink our lunch...er...well, at least I will....and tonight Pete is taking me to see the musical "ABBA-mania."  Good night-a-livin', I don't know what possessed him to buy those tickets...I've never really been a huge fan of ABBA, but ok, what the hell.

Talk to you later gator. Have a good day, enjoy whatever you're doing, have fun, and stay outta trouble!!

Love, Rebecca