Azraelle.com

To Absent Friends

So, as you can tell, I haven't been in the mood to blog much lately.  I don't know if it's because I'm older or because I've just become too private, but I don't like putting so much personal information online these days.  I've also become a big fan of Facebook , so most of my online socializing is done there instead.  While it is sort of sad to admit, my days of being an internet whore are pretty much over.

Since one of my friends said that she misses my online ramblings, I thought I'd do a quick update on how I'm doing.  Basically, things are great.  I haven't been this happy in a very long time.  My marriage is good.  I have awesome friends.  We have money in the bank.  The husband is almost finished with his schooling.  We've rented our condo in Vegas.  We will be moving to Texas within the next year.  I've reconnected with my aunt and uncle.  I love my cats.  Again, life is great.  I really couldn't ask for much more at this point.

Well, that's it in a nutshell.  Yeah, it ain't much of an update, but at least you know I'm alive and well.  =)

Springtime Joy!

 

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Besides not having to deal with snow on the ground, one of the things that I love most about spring in Mid-Michigan is the annual butterfly exhibit at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.  We’ve gone every year since we first learned about it, and it’s something that I really enjoy.  This year’s exhibit was a little disappointing because they didn’t have a special butterfly for the theme, and I was also extremely unhappy with the t-shirts they offered.  Normally, they have really pretty stuff, but this time the t-shirts looked like something only a grandmother would wear.  I guess they couldn’t afford to hire a designer this year.  Damn this crappy economy!  So, no t-shirt for me, but at least I still got to see my pretty butterflies! 

Gimme The Bat, Wendy

Am I strange for getting warm fuzzies while watching The Shining?  Yeah, it’s a horror movie, but I have so many memories of watching it with my family.  Mom and I used to watch it whenever it came on television, and I always used to get so scared during the bathtub scene.  After Mom married Bud, we eventually got the movie on VHS and watched it occasionally.  We always joked that Bud was just like Jack in the movie.  LOL!  Bud wasn’t a psychotic murderer, but he did have some spectacular “Jack” moments when he got angry sometimes.  Yeah, my family was dysfunctional, but we always managed to have a sense of humor about it.

Anyway, it’s a rainy Saturday and I’m watching The Shining.  J is in Detroit this weekend for a competition, so I’ve been doing my own thing.  I just love curling up on the couch with my blanket—enjoying the rain and watching old movies.  It has been very peaceful and relaxing.  As much as I love my husband, sometimes it is so very nice to just be alone and enjoy quiet moments.

American Dream

We got the condo!  While we didn’t get it for our initial lowball offer, we still got a hell of a deal.  That sucker is all ours, and it will feel so good to no longer pay rent in a couple of months.  We finally have a place of our very own!  We can paint the walls!  We can put in new appliances!  We can change the carpet or tile.  Finally, after all of these years, I am the one who gets to decide what the interior of my house looks like.  I am so excited!!!!!!

The condo is really actually a townhouse, but we keep calling it a condo for some reason; probably because we first found it on condo.com.  LOL!  It has 1,740 square feet.  It is a tri-level home with three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, two balconies, and a two-car garage.  It was first built in 1976 but the kitchen and bathrooms were updated in 2008.  The layout of the place is extremely cool and has a ton of character.  No one could ever call this place “cookie-cutter.”  One of the things I love about the place is the fact it has three sets of French doors.  I’ve always wanted French doors!  The living room has laminate flooring, but the den and bedrooms are carpeted.  The shower in the main bathroom is actually a small tiled room.  Crazy, eh?  We plan on eventually putting in glass tile and installing one of those fancy shower systems with all the nozzles, etc. 

After J returns from his trip next Thursday, I will post lots of pictures of the place.  As long as the home inspector doesn’t give us really bad news, we will be signing all the papers and handing over the rest of the cash next week.  It looks like it’s in good shape and the seller threw in a home warranty in the deal, but if things are really fucked up, then of course we can’t go through with the deal.  I joked about watching The Money Pit, but I really don’t want to end up with one in reality.  So, let’s hope the inspector doesn’t give us bad news.

Ownership

The husband and I did the most grown-up thing ever yesterday—we put an offer on a condo.  The process actually began on Thursday, but the offer didn’t get sent over to the bank until yesterday afternoon.  Anyway, the contract is signed, the earnest money has been sent to the title company, and now we are just waiting to hear back from the bank.  Yeah, we did low-ball them so it is doubtful they will accept our initial offer, but we are definitely willing to negotiate.  Our realtor said we probably won’t hear anything until Monday or Tuesday.  Meanwhile, we are sitting on pins and needles, and dreaming about moving into the place.  I so hope we get it.  Condos with such character are a rarity in Las Vegas.  I would write more about it, but I fear doing so would end up jinxing the deal.  So, I shall remain mum until everything is over and done with.  Wish us luck!

J asked me what will we do if we get the call saying they accepted our offer.  I told him we will go out for a really nice steak dinner, break open the bottle of champagne that’s been languishing in our refrigerator since New Year’s Eve, and then watch “The Money Pit” which, by strange coincidence, is currently available On Demand.  My response made J really crack up and he said no one could ever accuse me of not having a sense of humor. 

Eureka! The Solution!

Finally, someone has found the solution to the foreclosure crisis in this country!  All you need is some black spray paint!  Don’t bother actually paying your mortgage!  The simple answer is to graffiti your house with the words “Help!!” and “Foreclosure!!”  Magically, after spraying these words on your home, you will have tons of people coming to your rescue—maybe even the entire country!

Besides, if the graffiti trick doesn’t work, it won’t be your house for much longer so who really cares if it now looks like shit?  Heh, and if you do manage to keep the house, you’ll just have the taxpayers repaint your home for you.  After all, personal responsibility is for other people.

Magnificent

I am so obsessed with one of the new songs by U2.  Without a doubt, Magnificent from their new album No Line On the Horizon is the BEST song they’ve done in over ten years.  This song is so damn good!  I fell in love with it immediately and have been playing it constantly since Saturday.  Just hearing the song makes my heart race and, when I close my eyes, I can feel the music course through my entire body.  That sounds so hokey, but it’s true.  I live for good music and, holy crap, this is GOOD!  Bono actually sings like he did back in the old days and isn’t mellow and boring.  They also decided to let The Edge really play the guitar again.  No one plays the guitar like he does, and he will always be one of my favorites.  Finally, U2 decided to make a rock song again!  I didn’t think they could at this point, but they proved me wrong.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album is mellow and lame.  I’ve loved U2 since I was 12 years old and have purchased all of their albums, but I am strongly considering just downloading the one song I actually like since I really don’t care for the rest of the CD.  Bono needs to spend more time in the studio and less time trying to save the world.  Anyway, Magnificent is magnificent and if you like old-school U2, you will most likely think it’s just as awesome as I do.

Obama Sushi?!?!

This obsession with Obama is really getting out of hand.  We now have an Obama sushi platter, which is just odd and rather frightening.  Hell, I voted for the guy but I wish all of these crazy assholes would quit swinging on his nuts.  He is just a man—not a god—and certainly not someone that should be made into sushi.  Yeah, it’s artistic and kind of cool but… come on! 

I Would Change My Name

We saw this store while driving through Mount Pleasant, MI.  Wow.  He is the Assmann!

Traverse City

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We spent Sunday and most of Monday with Amber and John in Traverse City.  A few months ago, Amber won a getaway package at a silent auction, and she was nice enough to invite us along.  We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and had a really fun time.  Amber was looking forward to using the waterpark, but she ended up getting scared by one of the slides and spent the rest of the time in the adult hot tub.  I didn’t do the slides at all because of a bad experience when I was a child, but I enjoyed sitting in the hot tub and also played a bit with some of the water cannons, etc.  Like a little kid, I had to run over and get drenched by the big bucket that dumps 1,000 gallons of water on you every five minutes.  No, I will not grow up and you can’t make me.  Amber had a little boy take an interest in her and he kept shooting her with a water cannon which, of course, I thought was hilarious.

While in Traverse City, we had an awesome meal, a good meal, and the worst meal ever.  The awesome meal was at a lovely French bistro called Amical.  We normally would not have chosen a place like that to have lunch, but Amber had a gift certificate.  The food was very delicious and the service was beyond reproach.  I had the croque madame and I loved it!  So good!  Everyone else really enjoyed their food, too.  If we ever visit Traverse City again, we will definitely go back to that bistro.  The restaurant where we had a good meal was located in the hotel.  Surprisingly, despite being located in a kid-related resort, the food wasn’t really overpriced and the quality of the food was quite good; we all enjoyed our dinner.  As for the worst meal ever, if you are in Traverse City, do NOT go to Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub.  The service was awful.  The food was terrible and overpriced.  It was the worst restaurant experience we’ve ever had.  Gordon Ramsay and the Kitchen Nightmares crew need to go there and make some heads roll.  Seriously, that entire meal was ass.