I still remember graduation from College Park like it was yesterday. A few of us met at Mckeldin mall to take pictures with our parents. I had on my favorite bone colored shoes (which I've ruined since =( ) and the same dress that I wore to my high school graduation. As we got situated in Cole Field house and watched as the graduate students walked up to the stage, I thought to myself that I would be doing the same someday. I would be that person graduating for my master's degree.
Unfortunately, at around halfway through my program, I began to feel very cynical...almost thinking that my degree really wouldn't be worth anything. I started to regret signing up for it to begin with.... and I all of the sudden forgot that dream I had of walking at graduation. So, I didn't sign up for it. I didn't buy a cap and gown. I didn't get tickets. I had absolutely no plans of attending.
I would have been walking at graduation this Saturday had I taken care of my attitude a little sooner. Instead, the conclusion of my master's degree will be nothing but the day that I submit my final report. No celebrations to be had. No hats to throw in the air. No proud moments to remember years from now where I get to sift through old albums and see a picture of Joe and I perhaps toasting to the past two years of both of us being in school and working full time.
I suppose that the moral of this story is to never downplay an accomplishment. I know not everyone is into the whole celebration thing. I was foolish enough to think that I wasn't. But 'cmon...this is me...the girl who likes to have multiple birthday dinners every year... Why did I ever think that skipping graduation would be ok?
I still have that dress I wore to my high school and undergrad graduation. I think I may just wear it this Saturday...
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Final Stretch
In so many facets of my life right now, I am in the final stretch mode.
School: Working on my capstone project with a team as we speak which is due this Saturday. Really, there's nothing more fun than writing a 30 page paper on a topic that you don't completely understand nor have you had any real-life experience on and then turning that 30 pages into a 15 minute presentation. It's so much fun. I recommend it to everyone.
Next week, I'll be working on my take-home final exam, some extra credit work since I failed the mid-term and hopefully by Thursday night next week, I'll be a free woman with a nice master's degree. Yays!
Biggest Loser: Only two and a half weeks remaining on this silly competition. Please tell me why I put up $50 for this knowing fully well that it would coincide with finals? To top it off, I'm basically already at my ideal weight and really don't feel like losing any more. I guess toning up might not be such a bad thing but being cranky 'cause I can't eat anything I like and having to do all this work is not such a great combination.
HGTV: Joe and I are at the "final rounds" (I think) of determining whether we're ready for tv. A producer's assistant is visiting us on Sunday to do a casting video and see if we're comfortable being in front of a camera. What do I wear??
Housing Situation: Joe and I are quickly approaching the end our current apartment lease. We had originally planned to resign a lease on a 2 bedroom with Joyce and Bernard but our apartment building is requiring that we sign a 14 month lease. ...not really a good idea if we want to get a piece of the "stimulus" package since the deadline for the First Time Homebuyer's credit is on Nov 30th. So goes our search for an apartment YET AGAIN that will allow us to do a 6 month lease instead for cheap. Looks like we're moving again! Anyone wanna help??? As usual, I will feed you! Promise! (Patrick??)
Is it Friday yet??
School: Working on my capstone project with a team as we speak which is due this Saturday. Really, there's nothing more fun than writing a 30 page paper on a topic that you don't completely understand nor have you had any real-life experience on and then turning that 30 pages into a 15 minute presentation. It's so much fun. I recommend it to everyone.
Next week, I'll be working on my take-home final exam, some extra credit work since I failed the mid-term and hopefully by Thursday night next week, I'll be a free woman with a nice master's degree. Yays!
Biggest Loser: Only two and a half weeks remaining on this silly competition. Please tell me why I put up $50 for this knowing fully well that it would coincide with finals? To top it off, I'm basically already at my ideal weight and really don't feel like losing any more. I guess toning up might not be such a bad thing but being cranky 'cause I can't eat anything I like and having to do all this work is not such a great combination.
HGTV: Joe and I are at the "final rounds" (I think) of determining whether we're ready for tv. A producer's assistant is visiting us on Sunday to do a casting video and see if we're comfortable being in front of a camera. What do I wear??
Housing Situation: Joe and I are quickly approaching the end our current apartment lease. We had originally planned to resign a lease on a 2 bedroom with Joyce and Bernard but our apartment building is requiring that we sign a 14 month lease. ...not really a good idea if we want to get a piece of the "stimulus" package since the deadline for the First Time Homebuyer's credit is on Nov 30th. So goes our search for an apartment YET AGAIN that will allow us to do a 6 month lease instead for cheap. Looks like we're moving again! Anyone wanna help??? As usual, I will feed you! Promise! (Patrick??)
Is it Friday yet??
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Are We TV Ready?
To our surprise and excitement, HGTV actually thought that our application was interesting enough to call us for a phone interview. Even more surprising was that they thought we were funny...funny enough to send someone to our apartment and film a casting video.
What started as something to do for fun ended up kicking our home search into high gear...and started making us seriously think if we'd be even comfortable being in front of the camera through this very stressful process.
Would we bicker worse than Jon and Kate??
Will Joe be able to reduce his average of 3 f-words per sentence to none?
Will I look FAT on TV??
Perhaps what concerns us the most is the pressure to buy. Joe and I were thinking minimum 6 months to find a home...more ideally 12 months. Although it wouldn't be impossible to buy sooner, Joe especially hates feeling rushed.
At least through this, we have started on a good path of doing some upfront research like what can we realistically afford. We spoke to a mortgage broker who analyzed our finances and credit report and assured us that our max budget was well below the absolute maximum amount of house we can afford. Our agent also gave us a run down of the process of buying a home and possible complications and stress that comes with it.
If anything...even if we batch the casting video and they decide we're not so funny and interesting after all...at least it opened up the conversation between the two of us...not only about purchasing a home but all the other important things that go along with signing a mortgage together. At least we now know that purchasing a home isn't completely out of our reach.
I hope this all works out for the best =)
What started as something to do for fun ended up kicking our home search into high gear...and started making us seriously think if we'd be even comfortable being in front of the camera through this very stressful process.
Would we bicker worse than Jon and Kate??
Will Joe be able to reduce his average of 3 f-words per sentence to none?
Will I look FAT on TV??
Perhaps what concerns us the most is the pressure to buy. Joe and I were thinking minimum 6 months to find a home...more ideally 12 months. Although it wouldn't be impossible to buy sooner, Joe especially hates feeling rushed.
At least through this, we have started on a good path of doing some upfront research like what can we realistically afford. We spoke to a mortgage broker who analyzed our finances and credit report and assured us that our max budget was well below the absolute maximum amount of house we can afford. Our agent also gave us a run down of the process of buying a home and possible complications and stress that comes with it.
If anything...even if we batch the casting video and they decide we're not so funny and interesting after all...at least it opened up the conversation between the two of us...not only about purchasing a home but all the other important things that go along with signing a mortgage together. At least we now know that purchasing a home isn't completely out of our reach.
I hope this all works out for the best =)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Exciting things to come....
YAy! I finally got up early this morning to work out. I only got to do 30 min on the elliptical but hopefully tomorrow, I’ll be able to do more. My body really just doesn’t want to function early in the morning. Later tonight, more boot camp and abs after I get my homework done.
Some exciting news…I heard back from HGTV’s “My First Place”! They wanted more information from us and a couple of pictures. It would be so cool if they were to pick us to be on the show. Joe and I will definitely have to tone down the bickering. Lol.
Not much to write about today. Lots of things to do at work and LOTS of things to do for school. TWO MORE WEEKS!! …and I’ll finally be a “master” at something!
Some exciting news…I heard back from HGTV’s “My First Place”! They wanted more information from us and a couple of pictures. It would be so cool if they were to pick us to be on the show. Joe and I will definitely have to tone down the bickering. Lol.
Not much to write about today. Lots of things to do at work and LOTS of things to do for school. TWO MORE WEEKS!! …and I’ll finally be a “master” at something!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Body Image
There is an evolution that occurs in almost all facets of life. Values, goals, friendships, relationships, family dynamic, careers….and the list goes on..
Ok I lost my train of though. Back to more meaningless blogs….
It’s 3 and a half weeks away from our biggest loser weigh in and basically everyone but Joyce didn’t seriously start working out and watching what they eat until this past Monday. I think so far I’ve been doing well but certainly haven’t attacked this like the St. Thomas trip. Last night’s attempt to be healthy failed of course since it was Cinco de Mayo. I met up with friends for Noel’s bday and had sweet drinks and quesadillas. At least I didn’t have any chips! Thanks to Melis for remembering to slap my hand whenever I’d reach for one.
I at least got a good 3-mile run before going out so I hope that helped a little.
I’m still struggling to get up in the morning to work out. That was key during my last workout phase. Today I was soooooo close! I really did almost get up to work out as soon as my alarm went off. But my eyes felt so weighed down. Ugh. Tomorrow….. tomorrow is another day and I’ll try really hard to get up to run or do a boot camp workout with Bob.
This morning, I got a slight burst of motivation as I was trying to figure out what to wear to work. Back when I first started my internship at MDA, I bought my very first suit set from Ann Taylor. It was a really nice black pencil skirt suit that I still have today. Unfortunately, it’s a size 0 and I can’t fit into it anymore. Just for fun, I decided to try on the skirt today and lo and behold, it zipped all the way up! Still slightly tight especially since I still hadn’t eaten anything this morning yet so I decided to hang it back up and wear something else. But at least, I found my “goal” piece of clothing for this darn competition.
Ok I lost my train of though. Back to more meaningless blogs….
It’s 3 and a half weeks away from our biggest loser weigh in and basically everyone but Joyce didn’t seriously start working out and watching what they eat until this past Monday. I think so far I’ve been doing well but certainly haven’t attacked this like the St. Thomas trip. Last night’s attempt to be healthy failed of course since it was Cinco de Mayo. I met up with friends for Noel’s bday and had sweet drinks and quesadillas. At least I didn’t have any chips! Thanks to Melis for remembering to slap my hand whenever I’d reach for one.
I at least got a good 3-mile run before going out so I hope that helped a little.
I’m still struggling to get up in the morning to work out. That was key during my last workout phase. Today I was soooooo close! I really did almost get up to work out as soon as my alarm went off. But my eyes felt so weighed down. Ugh. Tomorrow….. tomorrow is another day and I’ll try really hard to get up to run or do a boot camp workout with Bob.
This morning, I got a slight burst of motivation as I was trying to figure out what to wear to work. Back when I first started my internship at MDA, I bought my very first suit set from Ann Taylor. It was a really nice black pencil skirt suit that I still have today. Unfortunately, it’s a size 0 and I can’t fit into it anymore. Just for fun, I decided to try on the skirt today and lo and behold, it zipped all the way up! Still slightly tight especially since I still hadn’t eaten anything this morning yet so I decided to hang it back up and wear something else. But at least, I found my “goal” piece of clothing for this darn competition.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
My Daily Commute
It's 7:30 am and I've been hitting snooze button since 6am. I always set it at 6 because of one of these days, I'll miraculously get up and go to the gym for a quick run and a full breakfast before getting ready for work. But that never happens.
It's 7:30 am and I'm suppose to be ready for the 7:45 shuttle to the Pentagon City stop. Sometimes I make it, somestimes (like today) I don't. On the days that I do make it, I usually realize by the time I get to work that I've somehow forgotten my laptop at home...which means I have to go back to get it. Doh! And mind you, getting to work doesn't just mean taking a shuttle. Once the shuttle drops me off Pentagon city i still have to go one stop over to Crystal City followed by a half-mile walk to work. I know, it's only half a mile. But that's half a mile in high heels. And No, I won't be that lady in a pencil skirt and sneakers. And to add to my blisters, I'm usually sweating profusely by the time I get to work so I have go to the bathroom to take my top off and flap it around so it dries a little. Ok, that was probably a little tmi....
However, going to work isn't always as bad as I made it seem. Sometimes when there's really bad traffic on 395, I'm happy because I get an extra 15 min nap in the shuttle. Sometimes, Joe is nice enough to drive me to work. Sometimes when I'm feeling energetic, I power walk to work and count how many suckers I've overtaken on my half-mile stretch. lol. It's my little morning amusement.
A cup of green tea with honey...
Fruits and a hard boiled egg...
and that's how I start my day.
It's 7:30 am and I'm suppose to be ready for the 7:45 shuttle to the Pentagon City stop. Sometimes I make it, somestimes (like today) I don't. On the days that I do make it, I usually realize by the time I get to work that I've somehow forgotten my laptop at home...which means I have to go back to get it. Doh! And mind you, getting to work doesn't just mean taking a shuttle. Once the shuttle drops me off Pentagon city i still have to go one stop over to Crystal City followed by a half-mile walk to work. I know, it's only half a mile. But that's half a mile in high heels. And No, I won't be that lady in a pencil skirt and sneakers. And to add to my blisters, I'm usually sweating profusely by the time I get to work so I have go to the bathroom to take my top off and flap it around so it dries a little. Ok, that was probably a little tmi....
However, going to work isn't always as bad as I made it seem. Sometimes when there's really bad traffic on 395, I'm happy because I get an extra 15 min nap in the shuttle. Sometimes, Joe is nice enough to drive me to work. Sometimes when I'm feeling energetic, I power walk to work and count how many suckers I've overtaken on my half-mile stretch. lol. It's my little morning amusement.
A cup of green tea with honey...
Fruits and a hard boiled egg...
and that's how I start my day.
Monday, May 4, 2009
I Think I'm Addicted to Blogging Again
Yikes! Two posts today already? For those that may wonder, I do work. I really do! It's just that I'm running this simulation at work and each one takes an hour and a half to finish...and I have to run multiple ones so I can gather data about its performance. Alright, i'll stop being a dork now.
Anyway, I've decided to join Raytheon's team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on June 6th. It's a 5k walk/run to benefit breast cancer research in the DC area (but about 25% of the proceeds go to breast cancer efforts in third world countries). My goal is to raise $125. If you would like to donate, you can go here: http://www.info-komen.org/site/TR/GlobalRaceForTheCure/GlobalRace?px=5180150&pg=personal&fr_id=1140&et=dACiXoYpvXs1Od7kR3Ri2g..&s_tafId=19070
Oh and I think I have a real estate agent now! I told him I probably won't buy for another year but I still wanna look around and figure out what I want. After all, I need to save A TON of money first....and I have to do that by not dining out so much. I'm already looking forward to cooking each meal actually. Last night, I made hamburgers and potato wedges. Tonight, grilled chicken and salad. On Wednesday, I'm gonna try out the chicken cordon bleu recipe that Tien sent me. Then maybe on Thurs night (for Friday's dinner), I can try something on the slow cooker again. Gotta make use of all these kitchen appliances I've accumulated!
Anyway, I've decided to join Raytheon's team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on June 6th. It's a 5k walk/run to benefit breast cancer research in the DC area (but about 25% of the proceeds go to breast cancer efforts in third world countries). My goal is to raise $125. If you would like to donate, you can go here: http://www.info-komen.org/site/TR/GlobalRaceForTheCure/GlobalRace?px=5180150&pg=personal&fr_id=1140&et=dACiXoYpvXs1Od7kR3Ri2g..&s_tafId=19070
Oh and I think I have a real estate agent now! I told him I probably won't buy for another year but I still wanna look around and figure out what I want. After all, I need to save A TON of money first....and I have to do that by not dining out so much. I'm already looking forward to cooking each meal actually. Last night, I made hamburgers and potato wedges. Tonight, grilled chicken and salad. On Wednesday, I'm gonna try out the chicken cordon bleu recipe that Tien sent me. Then maybe on Thurs night (for Friday's dinner), I can try something on the slow cooker again. Gotta make use of all these kitchen appliances I've accumulated!
Golf
On a random Friday when Joe and I were both off from work we kicked off my golf season on a relatively easy 9 hole course in Annandale. As all my games go, the first drive was perfect followed by a second iron shot onto the green. YAYs! And as all my games go, the rest of the day went like this…. Two shots off the tee box because I either hit it in the woods or hit the ground shaking the ball off the tee followed by three iron shots forming a zig-zag to either side of the fairway and closing with 3 puts. It was really bad….
But apparently still good enough to justify a gift from Joe! After we played, we decided to stop by Washington Golf just to “look” which ended with a purchase of my new Nike Slingshot HL hybrid set. YAYs! I almost got Callaways but I ended up hitting much better with the Nike ones…plus the sales lady was giving us 30% off for it. I’ve played one round since resulting in me losing one of the covers for the hybrids (I got “the look” from Joe upon hearing the news) and a score of 107 instead of my usual 115-125….which is actually still pretty darn bad. haha It’s okay…it’s only spring so I have plenty of time to improve….
If only I get a chance to. This weather sucks. I was suppose to play a round yesterday but it ended up raining all day. My back-up was to use the simulator in my bldg but some doodoo reserved it for three hours……
So instead, I worked out like a maniac. Watch out family! I’m feeling lighter already!
Wow, what a useless entry.
But apparently still good enough to justify a gift from Joe! After we played, we decided to stop by Washington Golf just to “look” which ended with a purchase of my new Nike Slingshot HL hybrid set. YAYs! I almost got Callaways but I ended up hitting much better with the Nike ones…plus the sales lady was giving us 30% off for it. I’ve played one round since resulting in me losing one of the covers for the hybrids (I got “the look” from Joe upon hearing the news) and a score of 107 instead of my usual 115-125….which is actually still pretty darn bad. haha It’s okay…it’s only spring so I have plenty of time to improve….
If only I get a chance to. This weather sucks. I was suppose to play a round yesterday but it ended up raining all day. My back-up was to use the simulator in my bldg but some doodoo reserved it for three hours……
So instead, I worked out like a maniac. Watch out family! I’m feeling lighter already!
Wow, what a useless entry.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
"Senior Year", Biggest Loser, and anything else pertaining to Spring
I'm in class on this calm and cool Saturday morning. I could be in bed still but I'll refrain from complaining further. After all, my Saturday torture will be over in a matter of TWO WEEKS. I'm finally graduating. I'll finally have my weekends back. First order of celebrations: Kat and Noel's wedding which everyone has been looking forward to for months.... at least the girls. For the guys, they have Noel to thank for the "wedding fever" that some of the girls can't seem to recover from. The symptoms? Hallucinations of walking down the isle - Looking online for wedding dresses - Writing how they met stories ready to publish on a pretend wedding website. I tell ya, the fever can really take alot out of a girl. Admittedly, I caught the bug myself. Through the hardship, I did however manage to find my future wedding dress. I showed it to everyone to make sure they don't buy it for themselves. You're thinking I'm a little crazy but I know you have your wedding dress in mind as well. Don't lie...
Don't worry. I fully recovered from this bug. Distracted by challenges of the new job snapped me out of my hallucinations. Homework assignments and project presentations replaced story writings of "how we met". Real estate searches replaced wedding dresses. Gotta love the short attention span of a Gen Y. That and Joe slapped me silly and reminded me that he feels perfectly normal have not had any symptoms of the wedding fever.
Oh I almost forgot. My life (during the whole month of February) was basically taken over by another obsession. Losing weight and getting sexy brought on by Kat's Bachelorette party in St. Thomas. So, I went to the gym like a maniac and ate...more like nibbled...on fruits, veggies, and all things unappetizing. Joe hated me. I hated life. But I sure as hell wasn't gonna be on the beach at my heaviest weight thus far. The result - I lost 13 lbs (gained about 3lbs of that back since) and had no more reason to shop because all my "old" clothes fit me again. Because I'm still really not at my ideal weight which is (115 -120 which I haven't been since Freshman Year College in 2001), I decided to join my family's Biggest Loser Competition. There's 6 of us competing...$50 to enter which means the winner gets $300. GREAT motivation. We started in the beginning of April and will weigh in at the end of May. So far, I've lost 0 lbs. But worry not, I'm back to my maniac-ihatemylife mode and plan to lose at least 10lbs by weigh in.
and continuing the real estate obsession...
I have taken it to a new level by applying to HGTV's "My First Place". We'll see how it goes. For those who may think that I'm a little over my head, don't worry. I'm all talk. For all we know, I'll be obsessing over cars tomorrow.
Don't worry. I fully recovered from this bug. Distracted by challenges of the new job snapped me out of my hallucinations. Homework assignments and project presentations replaced story writings of "how we met". Real estate searches replaced wedding dresses. Gotta love the short attention span of a Gen Y. That and Joe slapped me silly and reminded me that he feels perfectly normal have not had any symptoms of the wedding fever.
Oh I almost forgot. My life (during the whole month of February) was basically taken over by another obsession. Losing weight and getting sexy brought on by Kat's Bachelorette party in St. Thomas. So, I went to the gym like a maniac and ate...more like nibbled...on fruits, veggies, and all things unappetizing. Joe hated me. I hated life. But I sure as hell wasn't gonna be on the beach at my heaviest weight thus far. The result - I lost 13 lbs (gained about 3lbs of that back since) and had no more reason to shop because all my "old" clothes fit me again. Because I'm still really not at my ideal weight which is (115 -120 which I haven't been since Freshman Year College in 2001), I decided to join my family's Biggest Loser Competition. There's 6 of us competing...$50 to enter which means the winner gets $300. GREAT motivation. We started in the beginning of April and will weigh in at the end of May. So far, I've lost 0 lbs. But worry not, I'm back to my maniac-ihatemylife mode and plan to lose at least 10lbs by weigh in.
and continuing the real estate obsession...
I have taken it to a new level by applying to HGTV's "My First Place". We'll see how it goes. For those who may think that I'm a little over my head, don't worry. I'm all talk. For all we know, I'll be obsessing over cars tomorrow.
Friday, May 1, 2009
My Recent Obession: Real Estate
Let's be honest here...it's not a recent obsession. I've been googling and looking for houses for years. I've been on craigslist almost daily to look for the brand spankin new apartment that Joe and I can move into next. But with the recent deals and lowered interest rates, my obession over new apartments made a shift to actual houses.
I know that Joe and I have a rent that is beyond what we really should be paying. If I really wanted a house, we should realistically be renting someone's basement apartment for no more than $1000 total with all utilities included. We should NEVER or hardly ever dine out. We should not have comcast and just stick with basic cable. But who are we kidding? Joe does laundry twice...sometimes three times a week which runs up our electric. I dine out with my friends ALOT. And as for basic cable? I'm already depressed that our HBO subscription is up and I can no longer on demand Sex and City episodes...even though I've seen them all at least 4 times. What brats we are...
But we're making changes! There's a way we can have our premium cable and avoid living in someone's moldy basement! We're moving in with my sister and her boyfriend Bernard in a 2 bedroom apartment in our bldg....giving us a savings of almost $500/mo. YAYS! Although there are some obvious downsides (Joe can say goodbye to doing laundry twice a week), having the savings will allow us to have money for a down payment to a house somewhere.
During my recent searches, I've found some promising townhouses. However, being the brats that we are, the ones that Joe and I like are probably beyond what we can realistically afford (ALTHOUGH according to cnn's home affordability calculator, we can "afford" $700k on a house! - cha ching!- But really now....)
Here's a list of what I've found so far. My main criterias are -
Hardwood floors somewhere
Bigger kitchen (would be aswesome if it had an island)
Big Deck so I can grill and have crab feasts!!
BIG closet
At least 1 garage
Inside the beltway in NOVA (or just beyond the beltway)
Now is that too much to ask for???
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=FX7043802&Add=5213-BALLYCASTLE-CIR,Alexandria,VA-22315
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6982256&Add=984-HARRISON-CIR,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6964264&Add=5113-GRIMM-DR,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6977210&Add=270-CAMERON-STATION-BLVD,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6977210&Add=270-CAMERON-STATION-BLVD,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX7017200&Add=170-MARTIN-LN,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6979774&Add=5020-BARBOUR-DR-#B,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX7034578&Add=353-PICKETT-ST-#30,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=FX7035228&Add=5580-JOWETT-CT,Alexandria,VA-22315
I love this one! http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6921719&Add=TRIADELPHIA-WAY,Alexandria,VA-22312
http://www.mlsfinder.com/md_mris/kurtandrocioduty/index.cfm?action=email_listing_detail&property_id=FX7038631&domain=thedutygroup.yourkwagent.com
http://www.mlsfinder.com/md_mris/kurtandrocioduty/index.cfm?action=email_listing_detail&property_id=FX6927071&domain=thedutygroup.yourkwagent.com
There's so many more places out there though... Anyway, WELCOME to my new obsession!
I know that Joe and I have a rent that is beyond what we really should be paying. If I really wanted a house, we should realistically be renting someone's basement apartment for no more than $1000 total with all utilities included. We should NEVER or hardly ever dine out. We should not have comcast and just stick with basic cable. But who are we kidding? Joe does laundry twice...sometimes three times a week which runs up our electric. I dine out with my friends ALOT. And as for basic cable? I'm already depressed that our HBO subscription is up and I can no longer on demand Sex and City episodes...even though I've seen them all at least 4 times. What brats we are...
But we're making changes! There's a way we can have our premium cable and avoid living in someone's moldy basement! We're moving in with my sister and her boyfriend Bernard in a 2 bedroom apartment in our bldg....giving us a savings of almost $500/mo. YAYS! Although there are some obvious downsides (Joe can say goodbye to doing laundry twice a week), having the savings will allow us to have money for a down payment to a house somewhere.
During my recent searches, I've found some promising townhouses. However, being the brats that we are, the ones that Joe and I like are probably beyond what we can realistically afford (ALTHOUGH according to cnn's home affordability calculator, we can "afford" $700k on a house! - cha ching!- But really now....)
Here's a list of what I've found so far. My main criterias are -
Hardwood floors somewhere
Bigger kitchen (would be aswesome if it had an island)
Big Deck so I can grill and have crab feasts!!
BIG closet
At least 1 garage
Inside the beltway in NOVA (or just beyond the beltway)
Now is that too much to ask for???
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=FX7043802&Add=5213-BALLYCASTLE-CIR,Alexandria,VA-22315
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6982256&Add=984-HARRISON-CIR,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6964264&Add=5113-GRIMM-DR,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6977210&Add=270-CAMERON-STATION-BLVD,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6977210&Add=270-CAMERON-STATION-BLVD,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX7017200&Add=170-MARTIN-LN,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6979774&Add=5020-BARBOUR-DR-#B,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX7034578&Add=353-PICKETT-ST-#30,Alexandria,VA-22304
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=FX7035228&Add=5580-JOWETT-CT,Alexandria,VA-22315
I love this one! http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=AX6921719&Add=TRIADELPHIA-WAY,Alexandria,VA-22312
http://www.mlsfinder.com/md_mris/kurtandrocioduty/index.cfm?action=email_listing_detail&property_id=FX7038631&domain=thedutygroup.yourkwagent.com
http://www.mlsfinder.com/md_mris/kurtandrocioduty/index.cfm?action=email_listing_detail&property_id=FX6927071&domain=thedutygroup.yourkwagent.com
There's so many more places out there though... Anyway, WELCOME to my new obsession!
My blog title is uber corny
Thanks to my older sister Mel who came up with calling me AKtion (pronounced ackshin - ha -ha get it?) anywaaaaays...
Well, here I am on my new blog site. Although I must warn... my life really isn't as emotionally stimulating as it used to be in college so I'm not quite sure if I can write interesting blogs anymore. But I will try. Stay tuned.
Well, here I am on my new blog site. Although I must warn... my life really isn't as emotionally stimulating as it used to be in college so I'm not quite sure if I can write interesting blogs anymore. But I will try. Stay tuned.
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