is it really friday?

Gracious.  its end of day Friday. And this is the first blog post all week.  Eeek. Sorry.
So where even to begin?!
Well- you remember how I bought a house?  Except it kept falling through? And we had several closing dates that just never happened?  I know I have kept you guys out of the loop- but now I'm ready to fill you in!  Okay... here's the timeline...
July 10: found the house and fell in love [yes- the first and only house my parents and I walked through]
July 11: placed an offer on the house [with low expectations because we offered less]
July 12: offer was accepted!
July 30: closing date!
July 29: just couldn't get my paperwork taken care of in time...
Aug 9: closing date #2! [and jury duty... haha] [didn't happen!  got word that we could close soon!]
Aug 15: closing date #3.... still didn't happen.  BUT we signed a renters agreement and got full access to the house.
Aug 17: Began RENOVATING... starting with popcorn ceilings [ugh]
and daily work begins....
Aug 22: [against better judgement] tore down a wall.
okay... fast forward several weeks.  The plan= close before September ends. 
[at this point- we know that there were title issues that had to be sorted]
we continue to work.
September ends.  Maybe close in October?
Lay floors and move in the second week in Oct. 
October ends. 
THEN! 
Nov 15: Official closing date [#4- but who's counting?]
Thanks right.  This week, I officially took ownership of my house!!
So that happened Monday, and Tuesday, I started a new job. You heard it right. 2 life changing days in a row.  You're talking to the new Director of Children's Ministries at Stevens Creek.  [talk about being on cloud 9]  Yep. I'm loving every second so far.  Couldn't be happier.
In other news.  Found this adorable piece to hang above my bed.  Perfect subtle glam.

I'm pleased with the turnout.  For sure. $24 from Marshalls.  And yes, those are jewels.
Also- Mom and I showed up at lunch today wearing nearly the same outfit.  Same top, different colors. Same jeans. Same flats [in diff colors] and even same socks.  Out. Of. Control.

Okay. And last but not least.  Today, Dad and I began to work on the yard, which hasn't been touched since probably June. I had major overgrown bushes that needed removal.  So, Dad and I eagerly got to work, cutting down branches, ripping them out, and straight up down-sizing.  And then, the unthinkable happened.  Dad was using his chain saw and suddenly dropped it in pain.  Rubbing his arm, he runs towards me.  I soon realized he had been stung.  By [killer] [angry] yellow jackets.  It seems my bushes have been housing a colony of yellow jackets.  It's safe to say there were thousands of yellow jackets.

Wikipedia: In the southeastern United States, where southern yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa) nests may persist through the winter, colony sizes of this species may reach 100,000 adult wasps.

Dad and I race to the street, away from the angry creatures, swatting as quickly as we could.  Then i felt a terrible sting. on. my. face.  Yes. the yellow jacket decided to sting me between the eyes.  Screaming, dad and I made way into the house, safe from the villains.  Dad made it out with only 3 stings.  And me- just the one.  But wow.  What intense pain.  My forehead began to swell and I had the worst headache ever.  After a little more Wikipedia research, we found this is the absolute worst time of year to agitate a colony [as it is as it's peak size].  Dad got brave two hours later and decided to suit up [in his winter coat and worker gloves] and finish pruning the bush.  You guessed it, bad idea.  This time, 4 yellow jackets made it into the house with him, continuing to pester us in the house. Thanks to a can of Raid, we showed them who was boss.

Moral of the story: don't mess with the yellow jackets.

More on the yard later :)

Cheers :)