If I knew then what I know now...Tweetyour16yearoldself

I don't usually get into the trending topics on Twitter, but this latest one "tweetyour16yearoldself" struck a little bit of a chord with me. When I was 16, I kind of had life by the horns. Of course at the time I didn't know it, but then again that's when things were more simple. Here were some of the things I wish my 16-year old self knew:

• That itch you had to break up? Listen to it & do it when you're still calling the shots.
• All that self-confidence you had? Try like hell to keep it as you get older.
• The tweezers is your friend, the Brooke Shield's look is OVER.

And most importantly:

• Spend more time w/g. gma, & pay better attention when she teaches you how to knit...again.

I wish I had listened to my g. gma more when I was 16. I was too busy being a social butterfly and rolling my eyes when she had something to tell me. It wasn't until soon before her death that I really let the knitting & crocheting instructions sink into my head and I'm forever happy it did.

What should you say to your 16-year old self?

Moving up...eventually

I have to say, house hunting is an exhausting process. In my last post I mentioned how we've been looking since October. We were prepared and did a lot of research, even pinpointing the city and neighborhoods we'd love to put down roots. But trying to make this happen is a whole different ballgame. We loved the first house we looked at, but of course didn't want to put an offer on it because it was THE FIRST HOUSE and isn't that a big no-no? But we figured at least we knew what we really wanted and kept looking. Then the "perfect" house came on the market, we fell in love with it and found ourselves dreaming about it...then someone else put down an offer and bam! it was off the market.

Just like a new relationship...you fall head over heels with someone, but then they break your heart and there you are picking up the pieces when it hurts so bad. It makes it hard to love again because your guard is up and it's going to take some serious effort to knock it back down.

There was another house, what we've dubbed the "kitchen house" because this kitchen makes you so giddy and in love and wanting to have it's little kitchen babies. In reality the downstairs is amazing and perfect for entertaining, there's a great backyard and you think that's it. But the upstairs needs serious work, the master bath & closet will need to be completely redone and the owner is asking way too much money for the thing.

So we sat. We did all kinds of research on this house, the owner and why he didn't want to bring his price down. The word divorce was thrown around and after reading Dooce's posts on the crazy lady they bought from it made me almost run away screaming. But the kitchen, the beautiful kitchen with the sub zero fridge, the separate freezer, the double oven, the island that seats six.

...

Then yesterday we saw a different house. I was wary, thought "eh, I see so many things I'd like to change". But it's priced to sell, and those around here go within a week. And after spending almost an hour and a half touring the house I tentatively started warming up to it. The layout is perfect, the high vaulted ceilings, the master bedroom, the laundry chute, even the backyard. I want to get excited, but I'm so timid, worried my heart is going to get ripped out again.

Dream kitchen vs. decent kitchen w/amazing pantry
Landscaped backyard vs. larger slightly noisy backyard
Mirrored closets vs. california closet walk-ins
Xmas tree bay window vs. cascading staircase

Is one better? What can you upgrade for cheap and what's going to cost an arm and a leg to change? My head hurts. People normally get a starter home for their 1st but we're looking for a house we can settle down in. Put down roots, raise children. We're going to discuss this to death. I know that if either one of these houses is not the right one it will present itself to us but I don't know how much more I can handle. Pro-con lists will be my friend tonight, I can feel it. And hopefully we can both land comfortably on one side or the other.

Homeowners, how did you know your place was "the one"? Was there a feeling or did it take you a little time to know it was right?

Back to the drawing board

weheartit

Remember my post about going gluten free? I finally made the appointment with my dr. about getting tested. The good news is that I've had that appointment and came back with some news. The bad news is that it turns out I was tested for celiac disease back when (although no one told me) and the test came out negative.

So here I am back at the drawing board. My dr. mentioned talking to a naturopath and a possibility of joining another IBS study but neither one of these options sound all that positive to me. I know nothing about naturopathy (I guess it's time to research) except that I've lumped it together with chiropractic medicine and astrology. Maybe in my research I'll find out it has some merit.

Now the IBS study makes me feel like I'm grasping at straws. I've done one of these studies before and the only benefit I received was a little cash and a boyfriend I realized was horrible for me. I should be more positive about this, I mean my company does clinical trials all the time but the first study left such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm not sure.

The only upside to all this is that I had a beer last night and didn't feel crappy afterward, so maybe it's not necessarily the gluten thing. If and when I get to Oktoberfest in Germany I won't be dying. :-)

Do any of you have experience with seeing a naturopath? Did it work? Was it pointless?

Girls Next Door

There are these two girls that recently moved into the apartment next door to my boyfriend. This would be all fine & dandy (we don't really socialize w/any of the neighbors) but these girls make me want to punch them in the face. They're probably about 20 years old and have so much to learn, so if I could - I would say the following to them...you know, if they wouldn't look at me like the crazy woman next door.

Dear girls next door,

I don't know what the situation was the other night, but I wish you and your friends would realize that the walls around here are kind of thin. When your boyfriends start arguing out on the stairs, we can hear everything. And when they migrate to on our doorstep? I can see everything from that little peep hole and will stare with intense scrutiny. I want you to take some life lessons to heart. Trust me on this stuff, I'm a lot older (even though I don't look it) and like to think I'm a little wiser over making it almost through my 20s w/o too much heartache & pain.

Those boys? Not even close to worth it. The fact that they almost got in a full on physical fight on the doorstep is not a manly show of affection, it's something that assholes do. I know it feels empowering on your end and almost warm & fuzzy to see two guys fighting over you, but you'll realize later that those are the guys you need to stay far away from. And coming out to say "we don't want any drama" is such a cop out. We both know that you thrive on the drama, it's part of your nature.

Bad boys have such an appeal at your age (yes, I know I just said "your age" w/a straight face) and I know it's part of growing up, but if you can get out of that stage quickly you will feel way less heartbreak. The good guys are out there and although you find them boring right now you'll find one later that will light up your life and make you want to spend the rest of your life with them.

But for now, please remember that even though you don't have a job to go to (just school that starts around 10am) some of us do. We don't need to hear you running up and down the stairs at 2am because you've been hanging out with the older dudes upstairs. And I know you're not exclusive w/any of them (why should you be?) but that many guys coming through the revolving door to your apartment makes you seem like a slut. Just FYI. ;-)

Love,
Your neighbor's girlfriend