We're crazy. For even considering it!

So, today we saw a sign outside the office of the apartments where we live.

It said: "Three bedroom move in special!"

I had to do it. I had to find out what they were talking about.

I went into the office and inquired as to their sign. They said they had so many three bedroom apartments available, they're offering $500 off move in costs. I asked them how many they had available that were downstairs. Six, they said. SIX! Could they scare up a downstairs 3 bedroom when we were looking back in May of last year? No-o-o-o-o, of course not. Geesh, isn't that the way it always goes?

Well, I tell Bill when he got home from work about this bit of news. We are actually -- ACTUALLY -- considering moving into a three-bedroom apartment. Two reasons -- a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, and 300 more square feet of space. An extra bedroom would be nice. We could get rid of the storage we have, and we could have a computer room/office, and a spare room. Nice!!

The downside, is that we have such nice neighbors here. Everyone's quiet, there are no college students and everyone here seems to be into quiet living. Plus, no one here smokes. I would HATE to move into a place that had a smoker next door. And the one apartment we are considering, has an empty apartment next to it, so if we moved into it, goodness only knows if a smoker might move in after we are already there. Or, a family with a bunch of children. Three bedroom apartments are much more likely to have a bunch of children living around there. Not that I have a problem with children? But when it gets nice, they play outside and scream and stuff. I guess I'm just turning into a grumpy old lady. LOL

Oh and one more thing -- the rent on the three bedroom is going up $50 a month on March 1st for anyone who signs a rental agreement after the 1st. So we have to decide before the first. Which is like, a week from Saturday. Which means we'd be moving in like -- a week. To avoid paying double rent for very long. YIKES!!!!

And of course they want us to move, because then they can turn around and rent our 2-bedroom for $50 more a month. If we stay here? We won't have to worry about a $50 rent increase. That is just for people renting (or changing) apartments.

Anyway, I don't know if we'll do it. It's a lot of work and is expensive to move, too. Ugh. We'll see. It sure would be nice to have the extra room!!

We'll keep you posted.

Busy, busy, busy . . .

. . . But not too busy to play a little!! I've been busy packing all morning, and taping boxes together. Bill called a little before noon and wanted me to meet him for lunch. We went to Subway -- YUM! Then we went by the new apts. to take some measurements and find out where furniture might go, and cable outlets are, etc. to try and do some advance planning. Tried to see if maybe we could start putting some stuff in tomorrow, but no go. They're cleaning the carpets tomorrow -- oh well. Friday it is!!

Then I got home and started messing around on the computer, and found this cool site! Look what I found:

myspace layout

Too fun! There's all kinds of glitter stuff on this site. Fun stuff to put in blogs, and My Space pages, etc. I've been wondering where people found this stuff -- now I know!

I took some pics of the boxes and the mess I've been making, and went to get them off the camera, and Bill has the dock all unplugged, so I will have to try and plug it in again, or wait until we move, or something! I'll try to get some pics of moving day, so my blog will be more than just blathering on and on . . . LOL

Anyway, I need to get off my behind and get moving again. Have a great week and think of us as we MOVE!!! The good news is, that Bill agreed we should get the kitchen packed up, so no more cooking until we are in our new place! Yayyy!! Pizza and Taco Bell it is. :-) Works for me, at least for awhile.

More later!

Is that your final answer?!?!?

Boy, we sure hope so!!! Okay, so here's the deal: We decided that if we were going to go down to a 2-bedroom apartment, we had better figure out what is out there so we can get the best apt. for our money, and be happy. We really liked the Train Station apts. I mentioned in my previous post, but as I said, they are very small, didn't have a 2nd bathroom and had no washer/dryer in the unit. Plus they are old. They wouldn't be bad if it was just the two of us, but with the two boys and us -- YIKES! So today, we woke up, pulled a bunch of ads from the internet, and went apartment-hunting. We went out to breakfast at Golden Waffle and plotted our route.

We came across some really nice places called Cobble Creek apts. over on Eaton Road, and they were nice. They were about $100 more than Train Station, but they had an extra bathroom and had a washer/dryer in each apt. They even have a downstairs available, and they have a pool, spa, fitness room, and a nice clubhouse. The only real drawback is that the only available downstairs was right near the entrance, and people would be driving by all the time. We did look at and considered some other apt. complexes, but they weren't nearly as nice.

We called Mission Ranch to see if they had any 2 bedrooms available, because that would be another option, although it is the most expensive option. Their 2 bedroom is $900 as opposed to $760 at Train Station and $870 at Cobble Creek. I mean, you really get what you pay for. Mission Ranch didn't answer their phone, but I left a message. We took the applications from the Cobble Creek place, and went to the Euro Cafe to have a cold drink, fill out the application, and try to figure out which of these apartments we wanted. We weighed all the pros and cons, and each one certainly had its pluses and minuses. Probably Train Station was the weakest one, because of the one bathroom and no washer/dryer in the units. However, it has beautiful vegetation and is right next to the bike path, which is a big plus. Also, we'd save a BUNCH of money there, but I REALLY didn't like the idea of only 1 bath and no washer/dryer. I'd really hate that.

We finally decided that we were leaning toward Cobble Creek, but we wanted to go by Mission Ranch first to find out if they had any 2 bedrooms available. If not, it would take them out of the equation and make the decision easier. We drove over there, and they have SUCH nice management out there. They recognize us by sight now (not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing!!!). They must think we're big pains in the behind!! Oh well. At any rate, we were really glad we stopped by, because they had three (count 'em -- three!!) downstairs two bedrooms available. Plus as soon as we went inside one of them, we remembered why we liked those apts. so much. They are SO nice, and have so much natural light. I love the bay window in the living room, the oak cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom, and the pantry is great! Plus there is a microwave shelf, which opens up counter space. The refrigerator is big, too, and has an ice maker in it. These are things that the other Cobble Creek place didn't have. The other apts. we looked at had a SMALL refrigerator, and no ice maker. Plus, it is 1007 sq.ft. as opposed to 940 and 900 in the other ones. They are just really nice. Plus the 2 bedroom that we chose at Mission Ranch is tucked back in the corner, which means it has a semi-nice lawn view (you can see over the top of the fence and see the cars going by on East Ave., which isn't TOO great). But it is tucked back in a space where there will be no through traffic. The only cars coming down there would be for people who live in one of the apartments back there, and there are maybe 8 apts. back there. Very nice! There was another one near the one we chose, and it had more lawn view, but it did face the parking lot,and it was obvious that the bedrooms were on the western side, which means they would absolutely BAKE in the summertime. No thanks!

So, what we finally decided was to take the 2-bedroom, 2 bath apt. at Mission Ranch. Our move-in date is June 1st and we hope to get the main part of our moving done on June 2nd. We are taking the following week off work (June 4th) in order to finish moving the smaller stuff and to get everything settled in our new place. We didn't want to move so quickly, but we figured we might as well get in there, and that means getting out of here early in June, so the owner of our old place will be happy, and we won't have to pay much rent for this house for June. We figured that we'd be totally out of this house by June 15th, which gives us plenty of time to clean it all up so we can get our maximum deposit back. Yea!!! I'm really excited now that something firm has been set up. And I am SO happy that, even though we're not getting a 3-bedroom, that we are at least getting the nice apts. and we have TWO bathrooms. The main thing we're giving up with the Mission Ranch apt. is a walk-in closet. I don't know WHAT Bill's going to do with his clothes!! Ha!!

I'll be emailing everyone our new address. Phone number will remain the same. Yahoo!!! Finally, a decision!

Change of Plans . . .

Okay so here we go again . . . change of plans!

We stopped by the office at Mission Ranch apartments today, and it turns out that the house for the folks that are in the apartment we want, their house won't be ready until mid-July, if then!! We were shocked to find out that they had just framed the house LAST WEEK!!! Framed it!!! How crazy is that?!? They said that the company is Webb Homes, and they can get a house done in a couple of months, but I don't think we should hold our breath anymore. We just can no longer afford to just wait, and wait, and wait ... We have to have a place to move to NOW!

We looked at a couple of places today, and on the way home, I suggested that we stop by the Train Station Apts on Rio Lindo. We had passed them several times on the way to Mission Ranch, and had wondered about them. Bill wasn't too enthused, but we stopped by and fortunately their office hours were until 6pm, and it was about 5:45 when we got there. The manager graciously agreed to show us an apartment. They are only two bed., 1 bath apats. and only 900 sq. ft. but they are nice! It is a downstairs apt., the patio has a gas BBQ on it, and there is tile in the kitchen. Its small but there is a lot of mature vegetation on the property, which means LOTS of trees. Unfortunately, there is no washer/dryer in the unit, but oh well. The price is right -- its about $200 less than the Mission Ranch one -- of course it is nearly 300 sq. ft. smaller. We put in our application and could be ready to move in as early as the 1st!! This means Mark and Scott would have to share a room and more incentive for them to move out!! heh heh. There is a method to our madness, you see . . . .

Here are some pics:

These are from the website, so they are not of our specific apt. This is the outside:


By the mailboxes near the office:


The swimming pool and jacuzzi . . .




So, we are seriously considering moving here. We will look at a few places between now and the first, but these aren't too bad! They have a nice clubhouse, a beautiful pool and jacuzzi, and a well-stocked workout room, and a tennis court, to boot! Not that we play much tennis.

We'll keep you posted! This means we could be moving in as little as two weeks!!!