Remember the title of the last entry about the house? Yeah, not so much.

We had the appraiser come out on Monday and the home inspector on Wednesday. The home inspector so graciously gifted us with a list of defective items – like the downstairs AC unit and the doors that are not hung properly (seriously) and drywall repairs and whatever a GFCI is for the whirlpool tub. The next day, the mortgage company sent us the appraisal and will require us to make repairs to the house before it can close. And it’s a totally different list!

Um, yes. Freaking out. Because apparently they expect us to fix rotted wood siding and a column in the front of the house, plus other things, before we own the damn thing. Are they serious? Darin got into it with our contact at the company, asking her just that. And yes, apparently they are serious. He relayed some message to me about escrow and paying the money to the lawyer and whatever, but all that is just over my head. Also, we’ll be doing what we can ourselves (or, should I say that my dad, Darin and my brother are doing what they can themselves) and so there was also something about having to pay the lawyer for our own services or something? I don’t know.

Thankfully, the repairs don’t seem to be as bad and as costly as we’d originally thought. Yesterday Darin went and got measurements for doors that are missing and wrote up a list of what needs to be replaced and repaired and where. Not a terribly huge list, I’m told. I just wasn’t expecting to see all I did on the list (and I’ve been told that some things really aren’t that big of a deal). And hopefully the AC just needs to be charged after sitting for so long (almost 180 days). Let’s just hope. (Although we did find that the digital thermostat’s batteries were dead, so I’m hoping that THAT is the reason the inspector couldn’t get it to turn on.)

Thursday was not one of my better days, so when I looked at the list, I wanted to just bawl. I saw dollar signs. Big ones. We don’t want to go bankrupt any time soon, so we are not going to charge a lot of things. And whatever we spent on fixing the house – these things we didn’t plan on, like the AC – will come from our wedding budget. We were already working off of a skeletal budget and thus, my friends, if you will be at my wedding, don’t come expecting a meal. lol. Don’t come expecting the now popular “out of town guest bags”, which I would love to do (you can get a free copy of our annual publication, Discover Tipton County 2009 instead). I’ll work with what I’ve got, just don’t come expecting a whole lot. I will budge where I can if I need to, except on my photog. Food be damned, I will have Emily taking our pictures. lol.

It’s also really, really hard to save money when you have to cover for your ex because he is not living up to his obligations, or his company is not living up to their obligations for wage garnishments or his state is not sending you the money it should. Or whatever is going on. Yeah, I’m lucky to get anything, but I don’t know what is more frustrating, getting nothing or getting a check that is a quarter of what you should be getting. I’m supposed to get $422 every two weeks, but the amount I’ve received in the last month and a half is less than that. Frustrating? YES. So I called South Carolina and I called Tennessee, and no one has returned my calls. I also have to go back to court to straighten out the paperwork my f-ing lawyer screwed up, which will likely cost me MORE money. Hear that? Those sobs? Yes, that’s me.

Truth be told (yet again), I am SUPER excited about the house. It is appraised at $14K over our selling price, which Darin says is good. I was expecting – and hoping – for more than that, but apparently the state of the economy has something to say about it. The list price on the house was $6K more than it appraised for, so I’m glad we got the price we did. We would have been happy paying the list price for that house, honestly. lol. It’s big enough for our little family of six and sits on nearly an acre and a half – it’s a great price. Our paperwork told us that in May 2007, the house sold for $169,500 and this past February [I'm assuming the bank bought it] for about $144K. So hopefully the market rebounds in the near future, making our appraised value go up as well.

See, in a few years, construction on our segment of I-69 is supposed to begin. TDOT officials have not yet released their timeline of when they will begin to acquire the right of ways (meaning, buying up folks’ homes and properties). But we will live in between two interchanges (and a third will be just minutes away). Like RIGHT in between two interchanges. I don’t know if they intend to purchase this property or not, but if they do we would like to see an appraisal above what we currently have. WAY above. And if they don’t buy the property .. eh, whatever, I guess. At least Darin will be very close to the interstate, which will be great news for his commute.

Anyway. Tired of hearing about the house?

We have another busy weekend. As always. I feel like a broken record when I say that, because we are rarely not busy. This morning we have a soccer game and today is the Heritage Festival in Covington. Which I am expected to work. Except that Darin was going to watch the kids and he is sick. And I’m getting whatever he has, of course, and passed out at about 8:30 p.m. last night. Tomorrow we’re supposed to be having dinner with Darin’s best friend and visiting Khloe, but that depends on who’s sick and who’s not. Next weekend is BBQ fest. We have soccer games up until Nov. 1. And work? Ha. We’re going to be busier than ever, which really pisses me off, honestly. A special section or something EVERY SINGLE WEEK until the end of the year. PLUS our Discover book, which is HUGE. I ALREADY do not have time enough with my family AND we don’t get paid OT, which we work every single week as it is. So Sherri and I are not exactly thrilled about all of this. I know this time of year is always busy, but when you more than double our workload, it sucks. Sherri has three boys, Gwen has two kids (and one is a brand new baby) and I have my three plus we’re moving and planning a wedding … I just don’t see how this will all work out smoothly. Quite frankly, I’m unhappy. Very much so.

Yesterday I surprised the kids and had lunch with them at school. I miss doing things like that. In the afternoon, I had a story to cover at their school, so I got to see them a lot during the day. It was great. But here in the next couple of months, I’ll get to see them less and less, which I absolutely hate. Is it worth it? Yeah, I don’t know. Especially when I’m volunteering my time. I understand that our interim publishers are trying hard to turn things around at the paper money-wise, but the editorial staff does not benefit from that. With added special sections, sales reps make more money off of the ads and the paper makes more money from those ads, but us? Yeah, we’re salaried. Which can be good, but when it comes to the point where you’re getting paid for 40 hours and you regularly work 60, it’s not all that great. I really do love my job, I’m just disgruntled today and already very stressed out before I even heard about all of this extra stuff at work. (DEEP BREATH.)

While I was at the kids’ school yesterday, I talked with Jaiden’s teacher and she was telling me that Jaiden was so sweet and so smart and everyone loved her. It’s always nice to hear things like that – and I have heard that three years in a row now from her teachers. lol. Everyone DOES love Jaiden.

Jaylen has been misbehaving in school lately and it’s frustrating me. He knows how to behave, and I wish he would tell me his issue.

Alrighty, gotta get the babies breakfast before we head out to soccer. Next season we’ll live about three minutes from the fields, I can’t wait!

Wanna hear something hilarious? Only it’s really not.

I’m not divorced. No, really, you read that right: I’m not yet divorced.

As my friend said: “This is like the marriage that WILL NOT end!”

The day of the hearing my lawyer did not have the correct permanent parenting plan submitted to the courts. This means that (1) he, again, did not do what he’s been paid to do, especially since that parenting plan was revised for the last time in JANUARY and (2) he would have to get the paperwork submitted to the courts in order for the chancellor to make a judgment regarding my proposed visitation schedule (which is no schedule for visitations). If he grants my request, that means child support would also changed as it’s based on the number of days allotted to each parent for visitation. (Since he doesn’t visit anyway when he’s more than welcome – and even asked and invited – to, why give him certain days and weeks for visitation, thus lowering his financial obligations to the children?)

On June 23 my lawyer told the chancellor and I that he would get the paperwork submitted as soon as possible. The chancellor granted an absolute divorce based on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct. When my lawyer joined my dad and I in the lobby after his other client was divorced, I asked him flat-out, “I’m divorced, right?”

He stuttered, but said yes. I was divorced. And I was thrilled.

Wednesday morning I had a meeting in the court complex, as I do every week, and decided to stop by and ask the chancery court clerk if any decision had been made. And one hasn’t. That paperwork that was supposed to be submitted ASAP? Has not been submitted.

I jokingly asked, “So I guess I’m really not divorced then, right?” Ha ha. “If I wanted to get married today, I couldn’t?!”

“Nope, you’re not.” She launches into legal explanations and I hear something about a final decree and why there was none. Basically: my lawyer is a douche bag (see definition 5). (Sorry for the language Grannie, but that’s putting it nicely. I have more colorful words, but I’ll keep those to myself.)

I really think there is some sort of conspiracy involving my lawyer, my husband (oh my hell, I hate saying that again) and … well, the entire world. It’s like in the movies – I just cannot kill this marriage and bury it, it keeps coming back from the end, taunting me. “Ha ha! You aren’t divorced!”

It’s really frustrating. I didn’t know that vowing to love him ’til death do we part’ was going to be taken so seriously. (I mean, really, vows are actually taken seriously these days?)

And I haven’t told him yet. That he’s still my husband. And I’m still his wife.

Maybe by the time our sixth anniversary rolls around next May we’ll have resolved this. Because the only other thing I can think of is getting back together with him. Why not? He got the seven-year itch at year one … it should be smooth sailing from here on out, right?

Hanson told me last week that my life is like a soap opera. I’m beginning to think he’s right.

Parents? Gone.

Kids? Gone. Yes, all three.

Target? On a Saturday? BY MYSELF?! I’m SO there!

And then, when I got home and was in the middle of changing my clothes, I realized I needed to fluff a shirt. No biggie! I’ll just walk down there in my underwear and toss it right in for a few minutes ..

.. Of course, just as soon as I open the door to the stairs I see the neighbor boy staring up at me through the front door. D’oh! He sees me too and starts ringing the doorbell continuously. (GRR!) That sucked. There was no one else to answer the door and he wouldn’t stop ringing it.

It’s a great thing everyone else is gone, isn’t it?