Friday, April 08, 2016

A full-blown grownup...

Quick check-in on a couple of things...

First: the house fell through. There were some potentially major structural issues that the engineers just couldn't quite scope out without doing some serious investigating. It was possible that the whole building was going to need to be torn down and rebuilt, but there was really no way to tell for sure without starting to rip some stuff apart. So, we passed rather than take on the potential for major negative surprises.

Then there is another place that was intriguing but is kind of a development project. It is currently five 1,000 square foot units, each taking up one floor of a building. We have talked a little bit with a friend of The Boy's who is a developer about converting it into a smaller number of larger units including one for us to live in. He and his wife just had a baby and are looking to move and might or might not be interested in the other half. It could be two 2,500 sq ft units (the third floor would be half in the lower unit, half in the upper) or one that is three floors and one that is two.

There is also some basement space that could be finished, and there is the possibility of making one larger unit (that we would live in) and several smaller rentals, either in the current single-floor layout, or in smaller one-bedroom and studio units. Or, the basement and first floor could be rentals and we could build two 2,000 sq ft upper units.

All of which is to say: nothing yet, but we're thinking about it and The Boy's friend is thinking about it both as a residence and as a potential development opportunity. More to come, maybe...

Second: in one week, the baby girls will turn SIX YEARS OLD! Time flies...

Third: if that makes you feel old, then this is going to make it worse. I just got back from a four-day Las Vegas bender to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of my favorite little sister... That's right, the skinny little ten year old that moved in with me in August of 2005 is now a brilliant, smart, funny and absolutely gorgeous woman who can buy her own booze! (Not relevant: she's been able to buy her own booze since she was 17...)

Big Sis, Smoking Hot Roommate and I took her and 8 of her friends to Las Vegas for the weekend and us old broads showed them all how the city is supposed to work. They are all substantially more controlled and less boy-crazy than I think I ever was, but we got them to let their hair down for a bit. There was an enormous amount of eating, and drinking and gambling (the tables were kind to me and VERY kind to Big Sis!) and general rabble rousing, and a whole lot of teasing unsuspecting boys. I had a blast, I think they all did, too, and there was very little that can't be shared as funny stories in mixed company. So, success!!!

She has a job in Boston this summer, and Tinkerbelle is coming for the whole summer again, which leaves me with something of a space problem. Munchkin is probably just going to stay at Smoking Hot Roommate and/or Big Sis' house for the summer, or just bounce between her various bedrooms and couches in all three places like an adorable little vagabond. Either way, it means that I finally have both sisters together in the same place at once for an extended period!!! Yay!!!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Oh, hey...

I haven't blogged in eight months...yikes! And no, I don't have anything major today to tell you (and who is "you" anyway? Not sure anyone still would see this...)

But, I'm tired, and I am super hungover and I powered through the morning and now I have totally run out of energy and have no desire to work. So, here I am!

I'm tired and hungover because I was out with Munchkin and her friends last night. I still have dinner with her every Thursday (my very favorite time of the week!), but last night I got talked into going out with her and her friends afterwards...not a good idea. This may come as a surprise, but I am not, in fact, 21 years old anymore...

I didn't go to sleep until 3:30, and I stayed at Munchkin's apartment...which means I woke up at 6:00, showered, stole some fresh clothes from her and came home in what I can best describe as an Uber of Shame before the girls woke up:-).  Cuz responsible, that's why!!!

Anyway, let's see what's new. The girls are loving Kindergarten...they're such big kids now! They have new friends and they're learning to read and do math and all kinds of other fun stuff. LK doesn't love the dress code...she wants to wear jeans every day, and she is supposed to wear either khakis or a skirt and tights. The skirt is a non-starter...but I found some khaki jeans that are acceptable. She will probably have to get over this as she gets older. (Also, she really only wants to wear things that have pictures or sharks or lions on them...)

Munchkin is most of the way through her Junior year, which is just staggering. Her 21st birthday is coming up in a month and a half, and I am not totally sure that any of us are going to survive. The planning has been ongoing for quite a while, and her pretend sisters have maybe gone a *little* overboard. The four of us, three of her college friends and three high school friends. Katy bar the door...

She's got a job in Boston this summer, which is awesome. Tinkerbelle is coming back, too, which will mean that I will finally get both sister under the same roof for an extended period of time! I'm pretty excited about that.

Except for one minor problem, which is that I don't actually have room for them:-D. My plan to have them under the same roof relies on them wanting to share a room...which they may or may not. Alternatively, Munchkin will just spend most nights at either Smoking Hot Roommate's or Big Sis's...I'm not really too worried about it (I'm wondering if any non-property manager has keys to more homes than my sister does...)

Kind of on this subject...we may have bought a house. It's a ton of money and it is a HUGE project and I will curse myself for this 1,000 times before we can move in, but it looks like we may have done it. It's a very old, currently unlivable, very vertical (3,100 sq ft on five stories!) townhouse near here that will take probably a year to renovate and so much money that I don't really want to think about it.

But they accepted our offer, pending a couple little things...so, it looks like it may happen. I will reserve excitement until after the inspection!