Pros and cons (not convicts)

Surprise! Yesterday Josh rented a U-Haul and, with his brother and nephew, moved all our furniture over to our new home. Then last night we went and got all our clothes and some other necessary items from our home in Tooele (which we may just rent out in case you were wondering or even cared).

At 10:00 p.m. we finished arranging some furniture and putting our bed together (in the living/dining room). We really need to shampoo the little carpet we have so we didn't put our bed in it's proper room yet (which obviously has carpet).

As I sat on the couch to rest I looked around at our new home. For some reason the living room reminds me so much of the Miller's home, a family I babysat for as a kid. As I sat there I just started to cry. Josh was concerned he moved us too early, but I told him I wasn't really sad. Of course I miss our old house (especially the brand new hardwood floor and brand new carpet), and I'll miss our old neighbors, but I really have been looking forward to this move and there are so many reasons it's a good move for us. It's just that I've always resisted change. I think that's why we ended up not moving into this home in April. I just wasn't mentally ready. But rising gas prices will get a person "mentally ready" after just a few short months.

This morning as I was getting ready for work, getting used to the new home I was mentally taking note of the top 10 pros and cons of our new home.

Pros:
#1 Awsome architecture: we have beautiful archways in our living room and dining room. Our front door is round at the top. There is a built-in glass-front corner curio cabinet in the kitchen, and another built-in, glass-front cabinet in the living room. We have a fireplace (and the basement . . . which is being rented out. . . by our renter. . . has a wood burning stove!)

#2 Hardwood floors in dining room and living room. (although we also had hardwood floors at our old home).

#3 Living so close to family. We live 8 miles from Josh's parents and probably about 3 to 5 miles from my parents, and two blocks from my second brother, and about 2 to 3 miles from my youngest brother.

#4 The commute! I left for work this morning at 7:30 and got here at 7:45 a.m. At our old home I would leave for work at 7:10 and get there at 8:00 a.m. 15 minutes verses 50 minutes.

#5 The gas we will save by having a shorter commute.

#6 Lots of storage space (although we haven't put stuff away yet so that may appear to shrink).

#7 When our family grows we can uncover the stairs to the basement (which is being rented out) and have more bedrooms and another bathroom. Right now the stairway is a closet where we have a stackable washer/dryer.

#8 Awesome antique metal vents which remind me of my house growing up.

#9 Lots and lots and lots of windows, and uniquely shaped windows which give the house a lot of character.

#10 We have our own yard to do whatever we please to (and it even has grass). We'll have to fence off one more side of the back yard so our dogs can have a place to run around (since we now live on a busier street).

#10.1 (this is, after all a top 10 List) Much newer fridge, con, much older stove (but still electric, which is good because gas stoves scare me).

#10.2 There are doors separating the part of the home with carpet from the rest of the home. If the dogs do have an accident (which is rare now) it would be easy to clean up as long as we contain them to the rooms with hardwood floor and the kitchen.

#10.3 A sort of mud room as you enter from the back door.

#10.4 A balcony with french doors off of the dining room.

#10.5 A beautiful entry area at the front door.

Top 10 Cons:
#1 As I was getting ready to blow dry my hair this morning I discovered that there are no electrical outlets in the bathroom.

#2 Less storage in the bathroom (although there is a large hall cupboard with draws right across from the bathroom).

#3 When I sit on the toilet my knees touch the wall in front of me. It feels very cramped. I can't imagine how it is for Josh who is 7 inches taller than me.

#4 One bathroom. One toilet.

#5 Although there are a lot of cupboards in the kitchen, they are not the style I would've chosen and I don't really like them.

#6 It's an old house with lots of charm, but it needs a lot of work. The little carpet we have really needs to be replaced. But it would be cheap because it's only needed in the two bedrooms and a small hallway.

#7 Needs all new windows. I keep finding that the windows have had plastic wrap taped to the wall and covering the window. The original window in the kitchen is missing the glass, but a second window has been put in behind it. (strange!)

#8 The attic window is completely missing so who knows what's living up there! That is the first thing we need to do is replace that.

#9 The shower has no place for me to hang my awesome shower caddy.

#10 The hardwood floor in the dining room has a large stain on it. It looks like someone was murdered there.

I know it appears the the cons outweigh the pros, but believe me, it isn't true. Most of them are about the bathroom. It's hard to get used to a new bathroom. I have to change my whole morning ritual to accomadate my new surroundings. Overall I'm thrilled for our new home. For those of you who read my blog who live in Tooele: I'll really miss you all. We still have a lot of little things to move out of our Tooele home before we're gone for good. So if you see me come over and say hell0.

Funny thing: We have moved everything so far without using any boxes. Are we weird? It was Josh's idea. Thanks Jordan for bringing over four boxes last night. I'm sure we will use them over and over for the last remaining items we need to move. Thanks Mom for bringing over a microwave.