Out with the old, in with the new

I have an announcement to make concerning my blog, Bella Grace. Since turning 40, I have been doing some thinking about myself: what have I done with my life so far, where am I headed, am I the person I want to be. And since my blog is a reflection of my life, I have been thinking about deleting it and starting a new. To show a new me, the person I want to be, the person I am working to become. But after many weeks of wrestling with this thought, I realized that all of the things, either good, bad or indifferent, are what has made me into the person that I am today: a loved - wife, mother, daughter & friend. And I wouldn't change any of it. So in honor of all that those things, Bella Grace will go on. But she will be having a "nip/tuck". I have a new image I want to show off, so please bear with me in the weeks ahead, as I work on this. This is something that is an on-going process for me, so you will be seeing some new changes around the blog. Once I get all of the elements together, I will host a "re-dedication" party to celebrate Bella Grace's new image. I have a few goodies I'm hoping to give out to celebrate this event. I also have been working on opening a new shop on Etsy which is also under some construction. And if any of you have any ideas/suggestions/words of wisdom, I would love to hear it.

Nightmare On Our Street

Greetings & Salutations!! Sorry about the delay. Last week, Dane stayed home from school on Monday & Tuesday due to being a little sick. Not too bad, probably from the change in the weather but he had a little fever. Then on Thursday evening, we left for Mobile & stayed all weekend. So I wasn't able to post.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. I didn't get everything done that I wanted, I never seem to !! And I always seem to find more ideas each year & say that I want to do this next year. I just LOVE Halloween. I have a few pictures to share...

Dane & Gracyn. Don't think you can see, but she has a little tee that has a picture of Frankenstein & says "Little Monster"

Our $2.50 jacket & our homemade Frankenstein jug!!

Dane with his cousin, Alyssa, the Princess.

Gracyn's First Halloween



We had a nice trip home. Hectic, but nice. It's always a rush to try & see everyone in just a few short days & then with trick or treating it's was a push to get it all done. And then we rush so just to jump back into the car & sit for 4 hours on the drive home. Hopefully, things will be changing soon. I'm not going to say too much, I think I jinked myself last time when I started talking about the house too soon!! Because...

The buyer has backed out!!!! There was a septic tank inspection on Wednesday & the drainfield test failed. The moron who did the inspection told the buyer (who was present) that it would be $8-$10 thousand dollars to fix!!! We just had one of the drainfields fixed prior to us moving in & when I called those people ,the guy said there was no way it would cost that much to fix. He even doubted there was a problem, but he said there was a number of ways to fix it without it costing so much. But it undoubtably scared the buyer so he is pulling out. When my Realtor told me this, I cried. Yes, I did. This has been a nightmare. But there is a good side. At least now, when we move, we can take our refrigerator with us!!! It was in the original listing as staying. But now we are re-listing the house & taking the refrigerator out. Just keep us in your prayers. With Charlie getting a new job & the house selling fiasco, all prayers would be greatly appreciated.

And speaking of prayers, I pray the the new leader of our country knows what he is doing. No, I didn't vote for him, I'm not going to lie. I really wasn't crazy about either of them although I did like Palin. I just really have my doubts. For once, I hope I am wrong, maybe things will get better.

Charlie is off today & we are having to drive to Albany, GA to deliver some car parts that he sold on Ebay. Might do some sightseeing. Hope everyone has a good Wednesday!!!

The Squeaky Wheel...

I had a talk with our realtor on Thursday. He had the contact info for the person at the Mortgage Insurance company that was holing up the short sale. The realtor said he had talked with him & that they had gotten into a heated discussion & the insurance guy was unwilling to budge on the two options:

1) Sign a promissory note for $18,0000

OR

2) Bring $5,000 cash to closing.

I said that I wanted to call the insurance guy & talk with him. Our conversation went alright, he did ask me how much money we had. I laughed & told him we had no money, but two kids! I then asked him if Charlie could call him & talk. Charlie at least got the guy to come down to a $9,000 note (from the $18K). So all night I tossed & turned worrying about it. On Friday, first thing, I called the insurance guy back to ask some other questions. He seemed a little aggravated that this was still going on. And then in an instant, he said "Your husband wanted to sign a note for the $5,000, so I'm giving you guys that." It's the $5,000 they wanted in cash, but we get to pay it off in a note!! When the insurance guy finally agreed with us, I had to think of a saying my father was fond of: The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I really think that by my realtor calling him, Charlie calling him & then me, he just got aggravated with the whole thing. And then the guy hung up on me!! But I really couldn't care!! We can deal with $5K. And this way we won't have to file bankruptcy! See, they were threatening us that if we didn't take these two options, they would foreclose on us & file a judgment against us for a larger amount. Oh, this has been a nightmare. But wait, there's more!! We are also running about a month behind on my car payment. We received a letter in the mail from them, saying "We are sorry for the disasters that have effected your area & are willing to help out". So I called & talked with a sweet girl named Lori & she postponed our September payment!!! Okay, yes there is one more-you know these come in threes!! Charlie got a phone call & he has a job interview on Tuesday for a District Manager position. The job is for either Mobile, AL or Biloxi, MS. Obviously, we would take Mobile, but we lived in Biloxi for awhile, and I know everybody thinks of Katrina, but Biloxi is a beautiful place. I really felt at home in Biloxi when we lived there. I've never really felt at home in Tallahassee. So he now has two good leads on jobs. The Lord is so good. I just read awhile back the phrase: "Let God surprise you". Well, he's certainly doing that!!

I thank all of you for your kind words & support while we are going through this mess. I hated to post about it, but it was affecting everything & without talking about it, I didn't have much else to say. But I've started doing a few others things, trying to move forward & I hope to have more creative post in the future.

I have been working on stripping an antique vanity that I featured in an earlier post. I have a friend who is planning on having a antique/craft show at her house in November & I would like to have this piece finished by then. I was originally going to paint it black & use a black & white toile, but I've had a different idea. I'm thinking about a "vintage travel theme" & I would like some feedback on this. Please be honest. I'm thinking about painting the vanity either a soft blue or green (think of an old map: see above pic) & then use pages from a vintage atlas to line the drawers. Not sure what kind of handle, made just crystal. Then find a nice lamp & decoupage a shade using vintage travel posters. I also have some vintage suitcases that I could sell. I love getting into themes & I can see this one going for awhile.
What are the new decorating trends? Do you think this one would sell or are there other one's out there now that are more popular? I haven't been to an antique sell or craft show in so long, and I know that the "Shabby Chic" style has faded somewhat. I would love any suggestions that you might have. I hoping to have the vanity finished stripping & sanded today & hopefully will start to prime it. But I must confess, I'm really excited about my "Travel" theme!

Image from Pottery Barn

All Creatures Great & Small

I was so excited yesterday & I really wanted to post, but Dane stayed home from school & we were quite busy. The reason he stayed home was because Charlie had to drive my car to Crestview for a job interview!!!! So I had no way of picking Dane up from school. So he stayed home with me. We had a picnic on the back deck & then spent the day playing with Halloween decorations. We've decided that he will be Frankenstein this year for Halloween. I had a mask from a few years ago that I had picked up of Frank & then a few weeks ago, I went to Target & they have those blasted $1 bins right at the front door. But I found the cutest lap tee for Gracyn with a picture of a cartoonish Frankenstein that says "Little Monster". So Dane will be Big Brother Frankenstein & Gracyn will be little sis' Frank!!

I really don't want to say too much now about the job interview, because I don't want to jink anything. Just that please send prayers our way.

A few weeks back, we had a house showing & I would always pack up the kids & leave the house. Sometimes I really didn't have anywhere in particular to go so I would drive to a nearby neighborhood until the realtor would call to tell me they were done. Well, this day, I drove into a very high-end neighborhood & found a house that I just loved. I think it just recently sold. Very cottage/country looking with wicker furniture on the front porch. And I love the color. A sage green with a creamy white trim. Oh, to have a home to call our own...sigh. Anyway, I took a few pictures & just drove around waiting and then all of the sudden, I see something in the front yard of a house & I just slammed on brakes. I'm telling Dane, "Come look, come look!" Now, remember, we are in the middle of the city, not out in the country.

Yes, wild turkeys!! I couldn't believe it! And then...
They just walked right across the road into a wooded lot.
It was the most amazing thing to see these birds walking around manicured lawns like they were at home. I will say that we have seen a menagerie of animals while living in Tallahassee. We see many hawks, more than I've ever seen living anywhere else. And then there are the foxes that we've seen in our own neighborhood. Again, Dane was with me one night when we came upon a young fox walking down the middle of the road within our subdivision. All of this just brings me back to my old dream of owning a lot of land so that we can enjoy all of God's creatures!! I just love animals! Have you ever seen any animals that were out of their natural habitat but seemed to have adjusted to their new environment? I'd love to hear about it.

Once I find my camera charger (I think I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached- at least that's what my mom always told me!) I'll post some pictures of my Halloween decorations. It's not going to be a lot because we are planning on going home that weekend but I just love it too much not to do anything!!

Short Sale Deficiency

Here I am. Just trying to make some sense out of the craziness that has come & taken over our lives. It's almost too much to even comprehend but I am sure that God has a plan & I just pray that I have the strength & courage to step up to the challenge.

I will try to make a quick update on the house selling situation. We are having to do a short sale ( sell the house for less than we owe on it) The Realtors' said that if it was a good enough offer the bank would accept it & call it even. We were very adamant about this because I could see how in the world the Realtors' were getting paid. They assured us it would all be taken care of by the bank. We got a number of offers, the bast one being almost $5K above the asking price. So we submitted this to the mortgage company & waited. And waited. Now they have come back with a counteroffer.: We sign a no interest promissory note of $18K, payable by $100 per month installments for the next 179 months (BTW that's for the next 15 years!!) Sorry guys, just can't do it. I can not lay my head down every night to go to sleep knowing that I am paying for a house that I no longer live in, until the year 2024!!!
After a few days of me worrying my self sick about this, we finally got an email that they could take $5,000 dollars, due at closing. Uhm, we don't have $5K. If we did, we wouldn't be so far behind on the mortage payments & two months late on my car. So, here we are, waiting again to see what their next offer is.

Charlie has had a few good interviews with two companies. One might be in Pensacola, FLorida & the other maybe Mobile, Alabama.

Dane is loving Kindergaten. He now knows 7 words to spell. And is getting excited about dressing up for Halloween.

Gracyn is getting big. Maybe teething. She has been awfully fussy the last few days & had a fever one day.

I have been trying to sell some stuff on Ebay, I even have a few books listed on Half.com and need to look into Amazon. I figured since I love to read & seem to always sniff out the books at any yard sale/ thrift store, why not see if I can make some money. I've also been trying to purge some things that we no longer need & box up stuff that we can live without for awhile.
I've also started making something for Dane for Christmas. It's a plastic canvas Nativity that I think he will enjoy. He's old enough now to have some understanding of the story & I feel that by having his own set, the story will have more meaning to him. I'll post pictures once I get some of the pieces made. I do need scrap yarn if anyone has any laying around.

I hope that all of my friends are doing good. I will try to make my way through everyone's blogs to see how everything is going. I have missed the interaction, but with all of this weighing on me, I just feel like we are in the Twilight Zone-I'm ready to wake up & have a normal life back LOL!!

Thanks to everyone who has remained with me. I'm sure God has some wonderful things planned ahead for me. I hope to share them with you soon.

Banana Bama

I know this might sound un-American but I've never been one to love Oreo's. I'll eat them when they are put in front of me, but I've never "craved" them or purchased a bag from the store. But one day on my shopping excursion, there was a display for the Banana Split Creme Oreo's. I thought they looked appetizing so I purchased a bag. And boy were they yummy!! No one else in the family even wanted one, so I got to eat the whole bag all by myself ;0) And to make the whole thing ever more unusual, I'm not a big "Banana" person! I walk right by the yellow fruit & won't even give them a second thought. The last few times I bought them was due to Dane asking for some. But I Loved these cookies! I really need to go buy another bag, maybe even two. If you get a chance to try them, let me know. I'd love to hear from anyone to see if they are as good to you as they are to me.

Not too much else going on. We had another appraisal yesterday for our house. It looks like the bank is moving forward with the offer that was made, but still no final answer. Charlie hasn't heard anything back about the job, and I'm planning on having a yard sale on Saturday. I was a little worried about Ike, but I think he;s on his way to Texas. I told Dane we would make some Lemonade to sell at the yard sale. I am going with the idea that we will be moving soon, so I'll sell as much as I can. I would really like to get rid of all these Department 56 houses & accessories that I have. I've tried on Ebay a few times. One day, I hope to sell all of them & buy a Cody Foster cardboard house ~ A Christmas one & a Halloween one!

Fortune Cookies & Lemonade

We are leaving tonight for Alabama. Charlie has a job interview tomorrow. So today we had lunch together at a Chinese buffet. After we ate, the fortune cookies were brought out along with the bill. Upon opening mine, he handed me his so he could pick up Gracyn. I couldn't believe what I was reading!

"Be prepared to accept a wondrous opportunity in the days ahead!"

I have been praying so hard lately for some sign that things will get better. I've been very depressed lately & I've thought a lot about my blog, but I feel like I don't have anything cheerful to say so I just procrastinate about it and hope something good will happen & then I can have something fun to talk about. I had an open house yesterday. Started cleaning like a mad person on Saturday when we saw another house in the neighborhood was hosting an open house. Since we are having to sell our house by owner, we are limited to the amount of people who can see it. So I thought we would take advantage of the other houses' open house & have one of our own. It was from 2-5 pm. And we had one couple stop by. Yes, one. That's all. But, I did make homemade lemonade with Dane while waiting for people to show up. Then after the open house, we carried the ice chest out onto the front lawn & he got the neighbor to by two cups!



My two little bugs. Gracyn is now 4 months old. She will be 5 months in one week. And she is laughing so much now.

I've been reading some. Instead of going through all of them, you can see my shelf on the right. But there is one in particular that I want to mention- I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. I loved it! An excellent book about romance & bohemian lifestyle. It has been made into at movie which I haven't seen yet. I'm hoping to check it out sometime.

Well, I need to get packing. But I hope you will please keep us in your prayers. For this new job & that we can find a buyer for both of these houses. I don't even want to think about the alternative.

God bless each of you who has keep up with me for this long-I love all of you!!