So I Kinda Won.

I posted about the contest to win a $100 gift card from Wild Sorbet Frames on www.moms-with-cameras.com and I totally won! Crazy. I’m pumped to be ordering some mad awesome frames from Wild Sorbet. Seriously, if you haven’t checked them out you should.

I am going to wait until we find a house. Bill and I are searching for a house in the Spring, Texas area. If you’ve never done house shopping it really is a long, bizarre, awkward, and arduous process for several reasons.

1. Home Loan Approval: I have never shared so much personal information with anyone other than my husband in my life. Luckily I really trust our loan officer so its not as uncomfortable. Still, income levels aren’t really coffee table conversation, and we definitely just handed over everything from bank statements to tax returns. I’m told this approval business wasn’t quite as difficult years ago, but that really doesn’t make it feel any better now. Thank God we were approved.

2. The Search: I’ve looked at about 8 houses in Houston so far. In Tulsa I looked at around 35. How odd is it to walk into a stranger’s home and pilfer through every nook and cranny? It always makes me feel weird. Especially the few times we’ve walked into a home and the owners are there. What is even more weird is when other people come to look at a house you are currently looking at. I’m told this is not really supposed to happen but it has happened and I kind of feel like maybe we should battle those people. They are strangers walking around a house I am trying to picture as my home. Not pleasant.

3. The Most Expensive Used Item We’ll Ever Buy: Really, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars for a used house? You’d think it’d be more of a bargain. If I really think about this fact it makes me angry. Anything else used is way marked down from the original purchase price, most houses, they’re marked up. Boo to this. That’s about all I can say.

I know (or at least I think) that all this work and weirdness will pay off in the end. Still, I can’t help but get discouraged when I’ve looked at so many disappointing houses. One day, we’ll find it.