Saturday, June 23, 2018

House Hunting

I have been house hunting since the start of the year, knowing that come Easter we'd be officially Welshies...originally we were looking at Bridgend, but having lived in Gorseinon for a month we decided that we'd stay around Abertawe.

Looking for houses online is like online dating - you have a look at them, decide if there is potential, choose whether you want to go on a viewing (a date), once there you judge the house on the area, feel, mood and then you opt to either take it further or sack it off.
Although, when you are in a couple you do all of this with your partner and have numerous arguments, etc about whether you should or shouldn't go further in the process - which makes it even more fun.

At the start of June, I spotted this crazy looking house in Gendros which has 5 bedrooms. It wasn't the area we had looked at before but we weren't opposed to it. We had hoped to be countryside based but it was stated by Ro and I that we were seeing the house "because of the house and garden not the area". We booked a viewing for the next day.

Once there it felt good, the house had loads of potential, a really warm feel and we could move in immediately without doing any work.

We put an offer in, knowing it wouldn't be accepted and assuming that the house would go for more than our budget could afford...two days later we were counter offered and after some tooing and froing we offered the asking price, as long as it was removed from the market - within one hour it was accepted and removed.

Our mortgage application is in, our solicitors are in place, now we just need everything to be green lit and hopefully we will be in by the end of July.

It has had lots of love before, but we can give more to it. In time we'd like to landscape the garden (adding a vegetable patch and knocking the shed down). We would like to knock the walls between the kitchen and dining room through - if possible (it'll take a couple of RSJs, a builder and a lot of money) but it'll add so much to the house.

As you can see, we've been dreaming a lot. In addition, I'd like to convert the attic, making one of the rooms into an en-suite & walk in closet, I'd like to remove the doors from the cupboards in the front bedroom, making them into shelves. Ro can't wait to fit his own home-made kitchen, I want to build shelves into the TV room to frame the sofa...our plans are endless.

But it is all in the air and who knows what will happen. The building may not be safe or have major issues, the bank may refuse our application, you just don't know but for now, I'm going to dream and dream and dream and just enjoy it.

We had planned to initially move for five to ten years and then find out homestead and move, but if we get this house I know we'll stay for at least 15 years.

Like I said, it's just like dating, some times you think it'll only last for a few fun years and then find yourself married with children.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Dear PB - Pt.1

You amaze me most days and you are changing so quickly, I found your first freckle the other day it's half way down the left side of your trunk, under your armpit. Your second one is in front of your left earlobe. Your dad thinks it's funny that these kinds of thinks make me happy and wonders why I rave about them - I'm not sure why but they do. I guess it marks your adaption from being something I created to becoming your own self...long may it continue!

You have shown characteristics of being stubborn and knowing what you want - they are from me; they are not bad traits. They will help you know what you want and will support you in not being led into situations which don't make you comfortable. Always ensure that you are happy with the situation at all times, if something doesn't feel right - walk away and say 'screw that and screw you'.
True friends will respect and love you no matter what. I've been fine tuning my friendship group since my early Twenties - trimming the fat - which has resulted in me having some of the greatest friends ever. Most of whom I look forward to you getting to know the older you get, each one is important and treasured by me for different reasons and they will help support you in your later years, they will also allow you to stay with them during trips away - well, they better!

Just be happy, you've brought so much joy to my life over the last 13 months...as long as you can support yourself and anyone you bring into this world, you are doing well. You don't need to be rich, have this or own that, all you need is to be content. Careers will come and go, change and adapt, and some companies and colleagues will screw you over - learn from them, walk away, grow and move on - otherwise it's a wasted opportunity to grow and develop.
Ensure you have some shit jobs and remember that the person opening the door, serving you in a shop / cafe or bar, is a parent / friend or child of someone else and they deserve your respect and love - always say please and thank you. You can be at the top of the ladder one day and find yourself at the bottom the next day, if you are polite, courteous and kind to people on the way up, they'll pick you up should you find yourself at the bottom on day. Don't step over anyone and always smile at homeless people, they are people to and are just down on their luck.

Basically:
Be a good person.
Don't harbour ill will or thoughts,
Never be jealous and don't worry - they are wasted energies.
Hold your head high and smile at everything which is thrown your way.
And if all else fails, just laugh in the face of absurdity, because life is ridiclous most of the time.