Long time, no post

So, it's been a while since I last wrote anything here, well, it's been quite a summer.

Graduation weekend was a blast, seriously. My Mom, Dad, Grandma and friend Kay came to see Sean and I get our degrees, woohoo! We spent the day at Navy Pier, got some good grub at Joe's Bebop cafe, walked around and went on a boat tour, then headed to the Southside for a Sox game. Despite the Sox having a horrible season that game was awesome and there were fireworks to boot. The next day Kay and I met up with the family and had mothers day breakfast, and said so long to the folks.

Kay stuck around for a few days to keep me entertained and we went to see Spiderman 3 and to the Damien Rice show that Monday night.

The next week Sean and I headed south for a 4-day Western Caribbean cruise. Our first stop was in Key West, where we went on a Ghosts and Legends walking tour. The next day our port of call was Playa del Carmen, Mexico where we went for a cavern exploration hike and underground snorkeling tour (which was the most amazing experience I have ever had in the water). Our third day was a sailing day and we started that day off at the spa and the rest of the day swimming, playing mini-golf, winning various trophies for trivia games. Oh, yeah and I won a five day cruise at Bingo! I rule.

When we got back to Miami we had a few hours before our flight home, so we topped off the trip with an air-boat tour through the Everglades and watched lots of alligators snapping about.

Once we got back to the midwest I decided on a whim to go visit my family back in Iowa, so I spent about a week there. Nothing too exciting, except seeing lots of free summer movies and hanging out with Theresa and my mom and her friend Trudy. It was really fun and the most relaxing trip home since I moved here (probably because I didn't have any major work to do when I got back to Chicago). While I was there though, Sean started to reconsider our financial situation and the future and so we got back into looking for a condo, as soon as I returned (literally). The night I got back we had an appointment at the bank and our first showing an hour later.

The first few places we saw were absolutely tiny and I began to feel a little discouraged. However, that weekend we saw a couple of co-op apartments that were priced right and quite roomy. We didn't want to miss our chance so we put in a bid on our favorite and a few days later they came back with a counteroffer. We came up with a new offer and the sellers accepted. But, there were lots of bumps after that. They took a lot of time in dealing with their end of things, which has been very frustrating, especially considering their impatience when it comes to our end. So, all of the paperwork needed to get taken care of, but I was headed out of town yet again.

I went up to Minneapolis for a bookmaking workshop at the Split Rock Arts program. It was wonderful. I got so inspired, which feels very corny to say, but it's true. I came back with a lot of great ideas, that hopefully come through.

So while I was away, poor Sean was dealing with the lawyers and mortgage guy and the real estate agents, and who knows who else, while I was making books and playing with my niece Elsa. I swear I am the luckiest girl in the world.

So, once I was back the only thing in our way of getting our new home was the co-op board interview. We had a long stressful week of just waiting. Blar!

Finally our meeting came Wednesday night. It was a little scary. There were two really nice ladies an older gentleman and a younger guy (who was really just there to fill a seat). Anyway, they were all very nice, but the older man kept getting very gruff with us and often went on tangents that confused me. Everyone else was very straightforward and helpful. I understand the other guys concerns, but it made me very nervous about all that we had gone through and the possibility of it all coming crashing down at the last moment.

Well, of course, we wouldn't find out about our approval that night because they had to bring us up at the full board meeting the next night and then contact us today.

So just a little while ago our agent called and we've been approved. YAY! In two weeks we will officially be homeowners. I can't believe it is finally (nearly) over.

I mean I know that the whole process has gone by very quickly, but it has been killing us. I feel really sorry for anyone that has had longer periods before closing because if I had to live with anything longer I think my brain would explode.

Another really nice thing is that we have a nice long period to move in. I have my apartment through the end of August. This will give us plenty of time to paint and plan the layouts of the rooms and move small things over slowly. Then we figure toward the end of August we will rent a truck for an afternoon to get the furniture over. But, I only have one last week of summer before I start teaching again, so I better start packing. I am (finally) so excited!!!