Yup, Still Here...

Just wanted to make a really quick post to let folk know I'm still blogging, just been VERY busy this year & never imagined I'd have such difficulty carving-out time to blog, but if I'm lucky, maybe I'll still get 10 posts published by the year's end, fingers crossed on that, considering it's now the start of what will be a bustling holiday season for me.

But as far as what's been happening in my world lately... I've been very poor - point-blank, period, the end. Lol, I've been pouring every cent earned right back into my new home. Though I've very much enjoyed watching the transition from just a new home to my home, it's been a challenge accomplishing the many tasks, while maintaining continuity in other areas of my life as well.

All & all, I'd like to think I've managed to sustain the quality of life I expect for myself fairly well, but boy... I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't coasted into the past few paydays on fumes alone, lol. 

But it's a sacrifice I'm voluntarily making in order to get some things accomplished ahead of schedule, plus it's definitely a satisfying feeling to know you're managing a difficult situation. And now that I've completed my budget for 2016, I can see the light at the end of the credit debt tunnel & for me, that works just fine.

So Much to Do...

Over the past two weeks I’ve become a frequent visitor at Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Lowe's & also The Home Depot. As you might expect, I've been purchasing new cookware, appliances as well as furniture to make the place mine. I also got myself a taste of my very 1^st home repair bill just days after moving in, as the existing washing machine needed immediate repair! So it didn’t take long at all for me to realize both the joys AND pit-falls of home-ownership, lol.

I got the security, water, gas, electric, Internet & television services all up & running rather quickly & care packages containing many necessities from close friends & family continue to roll-in as well - I really couldn’t be more blessed. Each day, something new gets bought, installed or assembled - it's looking more & more like a home.

I'm hoping to throw some sort of a Super Bowl party/housewarming in February (though I'm not at all a huge party thrower) - that should give me the time I need to finish decorating & without going broke to do so! Should everything continue to go according to plan, I'll have the spot looking the way I want it to by year's end.

So far, I've very much enjoyed coming home to my place daily, right now, it gives me a new sense of purpose... I don't even hate going to work (so much) now, lol.

Mr. Crewe's Neighborhood...

Let me tell you, the devil was busy at work over the past 24 hours, but I’ve got an awesome God. It took some magic & prayer to get-around some last minute procedural issues standing between me & settlement, but I successfully completed the closing process earlier this evening - so I'm now a homeowner! Some of the features I really like about the area include the many accessible running trails, the fact that it's both a child & pet friendly community & also the well-maintained structures & surrounding landscapes.

It was my intention to find a home very close to my previous residence. But after months of research, I realized that if I really wanted to live in a more modern home, located in a pleasant community with lower crime rates - I'd need to expand my search area a bit.

Upon broadening my search, I began to see just the types of 3-level, townhouse style condos I'd been looking for all along. Sure, the location of my new home adds about 6 miles to my commute to & from work, but to me it's well worth it.

Plus, I'm still just a 10-minute drive from my brother & parents' homes, respectively, so very few of my daily or weekly routines will need to change as a result of my new address. Now I can begin to get back to life as normal financially speaking, might even be able to start eating lunch at work again next week, lol.