Wednesday, October 17, 2007

OK, Now I Can Tell You

We've given up the house. We can't afford the nearly $1700 a month it was costing us. Plus taxes, plus water, plus sewer, plus trash removal, plus, plus, plus, the fucking thing is a money pit, with a leaky roof and sills that need replacing (oh, and that's not a cheap fix, lemme tell ya) plus the leaking cellar that needs a trench or something bored into the concrete floor and then run off somewhere, plus, plus, plus. I felt like I was drowning. No wonder I couldn't sleep.

We've found an apartment, in the city next to our town. It is 50 times nicer (and about 500 sq. feet bigger) than our house. It's a duplex. It has a kitchen, with a pantry (swoon!), a dining room with a built-in china cabinet and a living room. Upstairs, there are three big bedrooms. On the third (third!) floor, there is a full, walk-up attic that the landlady said we could turn into a bedroom or an office or just use for storage. There are hardwood floors throughout the entire house, including the kitchen. There is a big three season porch off the kitchen and a full cellar (that's dry) with washer and dryer hookups. There's a garage! There's a fenced-in back yard with a clothesline. There are brand new replacement windows and a new heating system. We can keep our dog and our cat. And it's half of what we're paying for a mortgage right now. Half.

I feel like a two ton boulder has been lifted off my shoulders. Last night I slept well for the first time in months.

But just because life likes to fuck with me and I can't have anything good happen without an equal and opposite reaction, today I got on the scale and I'd lost 8 pounds. Yay, right? But I also noticed that I was peeing. All the time. And I was thirsty (although I'm on medication that makes your mouth dry). But the peeing thing. That was new. I kept forgetting to dig out one of O's 87 meters until about 2-1/2 hours after a carb-laden dinner of pasta and garlic bread. My blood sugar was 141. I'll do a fasting check tomorrow morning and keep an eye on it and call my GP if things are looking wacky. It's entirely possible that I have it - my dad has it and god knows, I need to lose weight. O is going to laugh her ass off at me if I have diabetes too.

28 comments:

Stomper Girl said...

The new place sounds great. Good luck with moving, one of my least-favourite things.

Fingers crossed that your bloods are just temporarily out of whack....

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Things are falling into place, as they should. The new house sounds great!

I hope that all this stress is giving you these wacky numbers. Keep us posted.

XOXO

If not a mother... said...

I'm glad you made the decision about the house - it should relieve a lot of stress... don't worry too much about the other stuff, either.

Christine said...

That's great on the apartment! Congrats! I guess I wouldn't worry too much about the 141. Try the fasting. Good luck!

Penny Ratzlaff said...

I'm so happy for you, Julia. The new place sounds great.

Keep us posted about your sugars.

Cat, Galloping said...

the new place sounds amazing! the potential illness, not so much.

Everydaytreats said...

Congratulations on the house! Moving's a pain in the ass, but it sounds like the new place is worth it.

(Keeping my fingers crossed for your health..)

Jess said...

First one thing, then another.

No, not a commiseration, a list. Do one thing first, THEN worry about the other!

I'm so happy you found a great place!

Shannon said...

That's a tremendously wonderful rent on that place you found!!

Congrats on the weight loss.

I hope you don't have diabetus.

LJ said...

moving....ooohh sounds like fun! NOT!! Good luckw with that! The new place does sound fantastic!

Hoping that O doesn't laugh at you in the end and you are just fine.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad everything seems to be working out and that your stress is relieved.

Keep us posted on your sugars. I hope O doesn't end up getting a sugar-watching buddy.

Stepping Over the Junk said...

sounds great! I live in a condo and love not having to deal with the outside stuff. Keeping things simple, financially and otherwise is really nice! Oh no, I hope oyu dont have diabetes!

Scott K. Johnson said...

Congrats on the new place J - that sounds wonderful!

Keep us posted on the D thing...

Naomi said...

How nice to have someone else deal with home maintenance. What a pain in the ass.

Best of luck with your blood sugars. Let us know what's happening.

Johnboy said...

Julia, welcome out of the money pit. The new digs sound great!

Re: the sugars, I agree with Christine. Try not to worry and keep checking the fasting levels.

Allison said...

I hope you don't have diabetes either, but even if you do, it might be pre-diabetes and just a little exercise and dieting you'll be able to keep it from becoming anything too serious!

Anonymous said...

I am happy that weight is lifted (about the house, not on the scale... although I guess it applies in both cases here). Sometimes I wonder what all the fuss about homeownership is for... it's a hell of a lot of responsibility and stress! Sometimes I'll drive by my and my husband's old apartment, our first place as a couple, and think about how much simpler it all was then... our heat, hot water and electricity were all taken care of in our monthly rent! No bills! Anyway... good for you. And keep us posted on the numbers.

Jane, Pinks & Blues

Alex Elliot said...

The new apartment sounds fantastic! My MIL sold her house about 30 years ago and has never wanted to own one since. Too much work.

SUEB0B said...

I am hoping that you are ok. And great news about the apartment.

Anonymous said...

Julia, so glad to hear things have worked out.

Tek

sandy shoes said...

The new place sounds like a gem! It feels great to shed things that are weighing you down. Houses, man, can they ever. Left to my own devices I'm more of a condo/apt. person, myself.

Fingers crossed about the sugar #.

Kelly said...

Oh, houses can be such a burden, or rather, the insane cost of living these days is such a burden. I'm so glad your shoulders have gotten rid of that huge boulder.

I'm sure you'll keep us posted on your health, and I don't need to say, but I will, we're keeping fingers and toes crossed.

Nicole P said...

Your new place had me at "built in."

Angewl said...

Congratulations again on the new place. Sounds perfect for you. Will the attic be another bedroom.... or your library?? All those books need their own bedroom.

{{hugs}} Hopefully it's just the stress and not diabetes.

Sharon said...

Congratulations on taking that big step. Sometimes deciding to quit something can be harder than starting it in the first place. If you feel good about it- it must be the right decision!

floreksa said...

Congrats on the new place! It sounds amazing and the right move for you.

Any chance you're closer now? Cause lord knows, 5 minutes away was waaaay to far. LOL

Jamie said...

Once again, I'm so behind on my comments ....

Congrats on the new digs! I'm so glad you've found a new place - and it sounds great :) I felt so much relief for you as I read your post.

About the sugars .... don't stress ... do the fasting thing. That will be more conclusive for you :) Keep us updated on how that turns out.

When is moving day?