It continues...

So the drama continued with the realtor. After the craziness with the photos, I had calmed down and was watching my new movies, when all of a sudden the door bell rings. None of us were expecting anyone so I went to check it. At the door was the realtor's son who was digging a hole to put the for sale sign in. While doing so, he managed to cut right through our cable line. Suddenly we are without cable and internet. Completely unacceptable. I still had an afternoon of discussions to take care of and now I had no access to the internet. Needless to say I was not happy and I gave myself a headache. The worst part was the fact that the realtor told me that I should go to Barnie's if I needed to use the internet. I was like.. Um no.. I pay for internet to work in my house. Unfortunately, Comcast couldn't come out until this morning, but the very nice Comcast guy named Bob came out an ran a temporary line for us around our entire house until they can come and bore a hole underneath our driveway to run the new cable in 7 to 10 days. At least it didn't cost us anything to be done and we don't have to be here when they come to run the cable. Which is nice because we will be out of town next week when we go to DC. 

So yeah.. yesterday was a fun day.

Realtors are annoying...

So I have decided that realtors are a pain in the butt in case anyone was wondering. When I first spoke to the realtor who was going to be handling this house she said that there was not going to be any inconvenience to us while they were trying to sell this house. Considering that our lease is not up until June 1st, we are still living here. Yesterday I got a call stating that they wanted to bring a photographer over to the house to take pictures. I figured they were taking pictures of the outside of the house so that they could post it on their website. What I didn't realize is that they wanted to take pictures of the entire inside of the house so that they could make a virtual tour. So aside from the fact that I had to finish my final this morning, I was trying to make everything presentable. But that apparently wasn't enough. She moved everything  around when they got here and actual said we need everything to be gone so that we can make it look new. All I could said was, "We do still live here and considering I just finished my last final, my last priority was your pictures." UGH! Just a word of advice. If you are ever renting a home and decide to sell it, try and do so closer to when the tenants are moving out. Realtors are pushy and completely inconvenience your tenants. 

On a happy note, I did get my two movies in the mail today. From my Disney Rewards points I got Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land and Ducktales Treasure of the Lost Lamp. Woo hoo!

The 2nd Annual Currey Move-N-Que

Clean Clothes for All!

New Samsung Dryer (minus the pedestal)

New Samsung Washer (also minus the pedestal)

Today Ricky and I went out and bought our new washer and dryer. Since the new house doesn't have a washer and dryer in the unit, it was one of those necessary evils. Although we new we could get a washer and dryer for very cheap, we figured if we were going to spend the money, we wanted to get a decent quality set to start with. This particular set is made by Samsung. Under normal circumstances I am a fan of Samsung products so we wanted to see what other features it had. The feature that sold us was the "sanitize" feature. Basically it has a hot water feature that allows you to sanitize laundry without the use of bleach. None of the other washers have that feature. They were the same price as the LG set we were considering and although the LG doesnt run off a belt, the appeal of the sanitize feature was a selling point for us. 

So since I was approved for a Best Buy Card yesterday, we were able to order our washer and dryer and set it up for delivery and installation. It will be installed and ready to go on May 4th! Everything for the new house is starting to come together. 

For anyone who is interested, we are tentatively going to be moving the big stuff in the truck on Saturday May 16th after we get back from DC. We will be having a barbeque after the truck is unloaded with burgers and what not out on the grill so if you are free and would like to help we would greatly appreciate it. 

Happy Cotton Anniversary!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Our anniversary desserts

Ricky playing with part of his anniversary gift

This past week, Ricky and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary. It was such a great day. Ricky and I both had to work in the morning because after all Tuesday is new release day and I had to be there to set the planos. Fortunately, my Tuesday class is over and Ricky's supervisor let him leave early so I picked Ricky up and we went out furniture shopping. The new house we are going to be renting doesn't have a washer and dryer so we are going to have to pick those up as well as replacing some furniture that are literally on their last legs. So we went to IKEA and a few other places to look around. This shopping was also so that we could kill time until our dinner reservation. We decided to go back to Texas de Brazil (even though we went for Valentines Day). Their food is so delicious.. I mean really, really delicious.. and although they are typically pricy, we had a buy one get one free coupon that they sent us in the mail. So we only spent about half of what we did in February. When it was time for dessert we each decided to get different things to share. I ordered carrot cake and Ricky ordered cheesecake (both of which were absolutely delicious). The best part was the fact that they put one candle on each plate for us for our 2 year anniversary. (whether or not that was the reason for two I don't know, but I'm going to assume it was). The evening was so nice and it was just great to be able to go out and have a nice dinner together. 

Now I gave Ricky his anniversary gift on Sunday even though our anniversary was Tuesday. I wanted to make sure he would be able to play it right away and we were going to be getting back late on Tuesday night after dinner. Ricky has been wanting Guitar Hero for the longest time. We really havent been able to afford it and even just getting the guitar and the game was going to run about 100 bucks. But once they released the Guitar Hero Metallica game they ran a special that if you bought the game, the $40 guitar was only $10.So I saved the money and bought it for him. I was very excited that I was going to be able to get him at least one of the games and I told myself that as the prices dropped I would eventually be able to get him the rest of them. Little did I know that was going to be sooner than I thought. I went to work on Sunday to discover that Guitar Hero Aerosmith and Legends of Rock are only $9.99 this week. I couldnt believe it. Aerosmith is usually $19.99 and Legends is usually $39.99. But both were only 10 bucks each. So of course I had to get those for that price. So for only $80 I got 3 different Guitar Hero games and a guitar. How amazing is that??? When I gave him his gift he was so shocked. I had to tell him the great deal I got so he would know why I spent the extra money, but for those deals I couldn't pass that up. 

All in all it was a very very successful anniversary. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with Ricky and I look forward to many many more. 

**And for those of you who are superstitious... yes it was our cotton anniversary and yes I bought ricky 6 pairs of cotton socks that he needed for work so I got it covered!

Our New House

Front of the house in Waterford Trails

Tile work in the Master bath

One of the hallways that leads to upstairs bedrooms

Kitchen

Different view of the kitchen to see the dining room

So here are a couple pictures of the new house we are going to be renting. I didnt take too many this time around, but we are hoping that with this house we will actually have a housewarming party/barbeque. We officially go and sign the lease on the first of May, but since our lease in this house isnt up until the first of June, it actually works out that we have a month to pack and move all of our stuff. I think we are going to rent a truck one weekend and request volunteers when we have to move the big furniture type items, but in that event, food will obviously be provided. 

Ricky and I are both hoping that we will be able to finally have a place that isnt going into foreclosure or on the verge of being put on the market to be sold. We are not big fans of having to move, but since we are put in the position there is obviously a reason for it. Although we may not know what that reason is at the moment, in the long run we will definitely understand later on. 

So here is just a taste for now.. I will continue to post updates as we get more info, but at the moment the next few weeks are filled with packing boxes and finishing up on the semester before we head to DC!

And the clouds opened up....

... and smiled upon the Currey/Heidt household

We officially got word this morning... we were approved for the new house in Waterford that we will be renting. After all of the stress and worrying that we weren't going to get approved, everything fell into place and we have a new gorgeous home to move into. Thank you all for the prayers and happy thoughts. They were all greatly appreciated. I will post pictures as soon as I take some. Our official lease signing day is the 1st of May. Our lease in our current house isnt up until June 1st so we will have a whole month to move our stuff over. We will probably get a truck one Saturday and move all of our big stuff at once, but throughout the course of the month we will be able to relocate the rest of our stuff. Fortunately since the new house is so close we don't have to pack everything in boxes.

Of course we will have a housewarming party once we get settled in but that probably wont be until June sometime. I think we want to try and have a movie or game night here prior to moving, but we shall see.

Again thanks for all the well wishing and prayers.. they worked beautifully. We are truly blessed.

Prayers needed...

Any prayers we could get would be greatly appreciated. We are applying for a new rental tomorrow and we would really like to get this house. So anyone out there that could lend a moment or two please help us pray in trying to get this particular house.

Thank you in advance!

One down... two to go...

One class down....

I finished up my first grad class as of this evening and from the look of things I have an "A" in the class. This was my Tuesday night studio class. For all that are wondering, I got a 93/100 on my assemblage project. To be honest I felt it was a fair grade and I am happy that this class went so well. Having the studio class to balance the written work of my other two classes was a good idea, especially for my first semester.

I am going to repeat this class in the summer (since I can repeat it for credit 3 times). The special thing about the summer is the fact that it is held at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smryna and it is only 10 days. So basically, I am going to be squishing all that I did in a 13 week class into 10 days (approximately 1 day or so per week). This should be fun.

I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of this semester is going to finish as well as to see how the rest of my masters career is going to pan out.

Easter= Rollercoasters and the Facts of Life

Seaworld for Easter

Easter sun rising over Kracken... Ahhhh Orlando

Just as the sun was beginning to rise

Big Daddy Weave jamming out at the sunrise service at Seaworld

Happy Easter!

This morning Ricky and I went to Seaworld for their Easter Sunrise Service. Apparently a local radio station has sponsored this particular event for the past 32 years and once again I had no idea it was even an option. I seem to be discovering all of these annual events in Orlando after I have lived here for almost 9 years. 

The weather was gorgeous this morning. There was a nice breeze and since the sun hadn't risen yet, it was still nice and cool. We got there at about 6:30AM, but a very large group had arrived before us. I would say there were at least 6,000 people there. The Christian group, Big Daddy Weave was playing the musical portions of the show and Lisa Whelchel (aka Blair from the Facts of Life) was the main speaker. Aside from the fact that she has a very high voice and rambles on a bit, she was a pretty interesting speaker. The best line of the whole thing was when she stopped for a moment to go off on a tangent to say, "If carbs are so bad for you, why is Jesus the bread of life?" I thought that was a great point (and rather amusing at the same time.) It was a very nice service with good music and a great setting. I was joking around with Ricky saying that it doesnt get much more "Orlando" than watching a sunrise service come up behind the twists of Kracken. How many places can you say that you were enjoying a nice church service while watching the Kracken cars being tested in the background. It was great and definitely my kind of service. 

We met up with a friend of ours for the service and then decided to have a nice breakfast at Denny's. We had the most energetic server on the planet (Tabetha) who definitely made our trip for breakfast an interesting one. After breakfast we headed to Port Orange and spent the afternoon watching the Masters and having a lovely dinner. It's always nice to spend some time with family and friends. 

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend and don't forget, Easter candy goes on sale tomorrow... I'm just saying...

Mardi Gras Part III: Hammer Time!

Ricky and I at Universal for Mardi Gras.. my new phone takes pretty good pictures

Ricky waiting for the concert to start.. we got closer this time

This past weekend, Ricky and I went to Mardi Gras for the 3rd time this year. We started with Barenaked Ladies to Collective Soul, and Saturday we finished it off with MC Hammer. If for no other reason than morbid curiosity I knew it was going to be a show we were going to go to. Ricky was incredibly excited and could barely contain his excitement. 

Aside from the fact that we sat and waited for several hours, we managed to get relatively close to the stage this time around. We didn't want to be too close because we knew there would be crazed Hammer fans who had had a little too much to drink in the front section. We wanted to avoid that as much as possible. 

The concert started later than the rest of them for whatever reason, but we didn't mind the late start time. What we did mind were the two Universal employees that were on stage in between the parade and the concert to kill some time. There was a guy in flesh tone stretchy pants who couldn't have been more nauseating. It got to point where they were being booed. It was bad. 

Finally, Hammer decided it was time to start. The problem was that after every song he was taking a break as if he was just not up for it. Under normal circumstances at a concert, people will have planned breaks that they talk or engage the audience in some way. This was not the case. There was basically silence as he figured out what was going on. It kind of killed the vibe of the concert. Granted, He did sing multiple songs that I thoroughly enjoy, including the Addams Family song (which made me very happy), but the delays killed the flow.

The final song was, of course, Can't Touch This. Hammer decided he wanted to bring half the audience on stage to join him for the song, which would have been cool except for the fact that it took like 20 minutes of boredom. I will say that there one guy that couldn't have been more "white," but I will say he could do the dance better than some of the dancers. He was nailing it and Ricky and I could not stop laughing because it was such a shock to see him do it so well. All I have to say is that if its not on YouTube it should be. 

All in all it was a fun night because Ricky and I spent time together, but Hammer is definitely showing him age. It was a fun night and although I felt old when he said he album came out 20 years ago (and I realized I was in 3rd grade.. and actually remember that album coming out) it was fun to relive a piece of childhood that was so controversial so many years ago.

Say What?

Ok so the question of the day is.. Who can translate the fortune cookie correctly?

"Nothing happines but first a dream."

Now I know some of you may be thinking, that word is spelled wrong, but I have taken it directly off the fortune cookie fortune. So anyone have any ideas?

I must admit my fortune was much more uplifting by saying, "Any rough times are behind you." That made me feel better. 

House Hunting

Well today was a somewhat productive day. I went out to view a couple houses in Avalon that are potential choices. The first house I went to see was not quite what I was looking for. They had a very strange layout with 3 bedrooms downstairs and one upstairs that was essentially a loft. They were using it as a bedroom because it did have a bathroom and a closet, but there was no door so no privacy. The other negative was the split layout made for very small family living areas. The best part was the kitchen that had stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Unfortunately, the individuals who currently live in the house are smokers and the entire house reeked of smoke. And in case that wasn't enough, they had a dog that was drooling all over the place. So on that note... no thank you. So I had hopes that maybe the next house would be better.. and it was by leaps and bounds.

Its on a nice little corner lot, still in Avalon Park, but closer to Timber Creek High School in a gated community. The house opens up into two split rooms that can work as a formal dining area and a whatever room. Then you walk into the open area that has a large kitchen (basically eat in) and the family room area. Its about the same size as the one we have currently as far as rooms go, but it might be a bit larger because it is more square. To the left side of the house are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. The second bathroom is smaller than the one we have upstairs, but its about the same size as the one we had in our house growing up. To the right is the master bedroom. This is were it gets interesting. The master has an extra little area for seating I am assuming, but they had it set up like an office. The master bath is about the size that we currently have, but the closet is actually in the back of the bathroom. I found that to be interesting. I have never lived in a house were that was the case. It has a decent sized backyard, with a small little porch. This house is definitely on the possibilities list. Its a good size and I like the layout. 

I think the problem that I am having is that I really love the house we are in. I love the size, location, layout and everything. I just wish we didnt have to move. 

Moving... Again?

Ugh.... so here's the situation for those of you who haven't heard yet...

We have to move yet again. I am so sick of packing up and moving everything I cannot even explain it. I just want to settle down in a place and know that I wont have to rewrap everything in bubble wrap in less than year. The homeowners decided that they want to move out of state and want to sell their houses. They don't want to deal with the rental once they move so that leaves us with the option to buy or move to a different rental. Considering the fact that we cannot get approved for a mortgage, the option goes to moving. Oh joy!

So tomorrow I am looking at a few other homes in Avalon Park. We have started the process because our lease is up the first of June and we are going to be away for a week in May. Considering the long process for renting, we decided we really needed to start looking now. So tomorrow I continue our search. I am looking at 2 homes tomorrow and who knows, maybe I will find the right one. 

I think in the back of all of our minds we are hoping something happens so that we can stay in this house, but in the meantime I am exploring our options. 

What a pain!