~*~ Dream ~*~ Believe ~*~ Achieve ~*~ (Comments Welcome)

Great job getting those runs in even if you didn't feel like it! I know that feeling well!

But oh my goodness!! That is so crazy about that house! Fingers crossed that everything goes smooth and well on it. That view is gorgeous.
 
07/01/2019 - 07/07/2019
Another week of feeling good! I'm still nervous about the hip, but I'm pain free. I wanted to get outside to run, but it was hella hot and humid again and just too gross.​

Monday - We were going between extremely excited and extremely nauseous over making an offer on the house. It needs so much updating and the smaller of the pastures floods every time it rains so we need to install a swale. We were on pins and needles all day, but the sellers accepted our offer! If all goes well we should be closing on July 30th.
  • Running
    • Plan: 4mi @ EA 11:47
    • Actual: 4mi @ 11:47
    • Splits: 11:45, 11:46, 11:50, 11:46
  • Strength
    • Back & Biceps
Tuesday - We scheduled the house inspection for the following Monday. That's the soonest we could get our preferred company out there. I needed to get some measurements so I could loosely come up with a kitchen design for our general contractor & architect so we met our realtor at the house in the evening. The seller had let the previous buyer keep his two horses on the property before closing. They were both supposed to be picked up over the weekend and moved to a new barn. Well, one was picked up and the other one was still there in a DISGUSTING stall with no food or water. He was so filthy, dehydrated, skinny.....and a stallion. He was also left in the stall with his halter on which you never want to do because it leaves them at risk of strangulation or suffocation. Because he is an unfamiliar stallion there was no way we were getting in there with him to muck out his stall. Stallions can be dangerous because they are not fixed and have tempers. We filled up his water, found a bag of feed and gave him some hay. I can't even begin to describe how angry we were about this horse's condition. It was heartbreaking. Our realtor grew up on a horse ranch in North Carolina so he knows his stuff and was just as angry as we were. He sent a message to the seller's agent.
  • Running
    • Plan: 4mi @ EB 11:00
    • Actual: 4mi @ 11:04
    • Splits: 11:17, 11:02, 11:01, 10:55
  • Strength
    • Legs
Wednesday - The seller's agent said that the horse should not be there and he's not sure what's going on and would get back to us. In the meantime, we went out there in the morning to feed and water the horse. My daughter had a riding lesson in the morning so I talked to her instructor about the horse. She put out some feelers and the horse tack & feed shop that we go to knew the seller and called him. Apparently the seller let the former buyer keep the horse there until he could find a new barn because it is very hard to place a stallion. He never let his agent know! The seller said that he was told that the former buyer would going out there three times a day to care for the horse. That obviously wasn't happening. We went back to the house around lunch time and nobody had been out there. No food and no water again. It was supposed to be almost 112 degrees with the heat index so Rob turned on the stall fan to try and keep the horse cool. So basically my whole day was shot because of an absent horse owner and I wasn't going to be able to run. It was Nick's 16th birthday today and I still had to pick up his cake and a last minute present plus I had an appointment with the dermatologist. PSA!!!! WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN!!!! I am religious about applying sunscreen, but I had what I thought was a pimple right at my hairline on my forehead that wasn't going away after a month. She said she believes it is basal cell carcinoma so she removed it and will call me with the results. She did a full skin check and other than one spot on my forehead I'm good! If you are going to get skin cancer this is the one to get because it is the least dangerous. We went to Kobe Steakhouse for Nick's birthday dinner then celebrated at home with an ice cream cake and presents. 16 is a big milestone, but he's not one for grand celebrations. He prefers a low key day with dinner and cake. It was also my brother's 34th birthday.

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  • Running
    • Plan: 2mi WU + 2 x 1mi @ T 9:07 w/ 2min RI + 1 mi CD
    • Actual: nothing
  • Strength
    • Chest & Triceps
Thursday - Happy 4th of July! We checked on the horse and it appeared someone had been there. Having the pics of your malnourished horse all over Facebook seems to help. We went to our neighbor's house for a get together and brought ribs that Rob smoked all afternoon and a corn casserole (it ain't a Southern gathering without it). Our neighborhood lit off fireworks which we could sort of see from our house. I just didn't feel like walking to the park for a better view LOL!!!
  • Running: off
  • Strength
    • Shoulders & Abs
Friday - Rob and I skipped the gym today. He was hurting pretty bad from the previous day's workout and I was just lazy. He had to work, but it was a fairly slow day since there were so many people on vacation. Rob checked on the horse while I brought Eliana to see her horse. Someone removed the fan from the stall. It was nowhere to be found. ***. Later that afternoon we went shopping for flooring. I think I have something picked out. Spoke with our general contractor and he is meeting me at the house on Monday to do an initial walk through. It's a huge project with so many components that we decided we needed someone else to handle the details for us.

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I fell in love with this bathtub and decorative wall tile, but it's just not in our budget. One can dream though.

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  • Running
    • Plan: 4mi @ EB 11:00 plus strides in the last mile
    • Actual: 4mi @ 10:43
    • Splits: 11:02, 10:57, 11:01, 9:54
  • Strength: skipped
Saturday - Shopped around for appliances. We are pretty happy with the Kitchenaid appliances we have in our current home and after shopping we think we will just stick with what we know. Must haves for the new house is a 36 inch cooktop and two ovens. Our current house came with a 36 inch cooktop and I love it. I only have a single oven right now and really miss having two. I cook and bake a lot so it's very handy to have two ovens. We needed a couple things for our horse so we stopped in at the feed store. We talked with the store owner about the poor horse and it's really sad. The former buyer speaks very little English and has zero horse experience. She has no idea where he got them, but he didn't even know what or how much to feed them! It's such a sad situation for that horse. Unfortunately our hands are tied because we don't own the property yet.
  • Running
    • Plan: 6mi @ LR 10:43
    • Actual: 6mi @ 10:41
    • Splits: 10:42, 10:37, 10:47, 10:45, 10:39, 10:39

Sunday - I was up at 4am to see Rob and Eliana off. They were flying to Maine. Rob was very uncomfortable about letting Eliana fly solo even though it was a nonstop flight. They flew Frontier which has a special program for unaccompanied minors (for a fee) which allowed for an adult to go to the gate for departure and to the gate for arrival, but he wasn't having it. He will stay there for a week then fly home. She is going to stay an additional week then fly back with her 17yo cousin. She was very worried about her horse for the next two weeks so I went to the barn and sent her a few photos after I groomed her and got her looking pretty.

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Upcoming
I'm really not sure. I'm feeling lost without a formal plan. I have a plan from January that I really didn't get to put to any use. I need to print it out and see if it's something I can tackle or just start from scratch. I thought I had settled on a half in October, but that 10 miler in Chicago with post race deep dish pizza keeps calling my name. What to do, what to do.....
 
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Exciting things happened today!

I got this from @DopeyBadger

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to train for this

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I registered for the Chicago 10 miler instead of the half in New Hampshire. Logistically & financially it's a bit easier for me since I don't have to rent a car and can fly on points and book my hotel with points. Plus my favorite meal after racing is pizza and I've never had true Chicago deep dish pizza!
 


I've just got to share some house drama because it's just so ridiculous.

We had our inspection scheduled for 9am on Monday plus our general contractor was going to stop by at the same time. I pulled up to the house around 8:50 and the inspector was already there poking around outside. The previous buyer was just getting into his truck (he fed and watered his horse) so that was a bit awkward. The contractor shows up and says to me "I didn't realize that this was the house. I did major repairs here in 2017." What? He told me he was contracted by their insurance company after they had a pipe burst that flooded the home and caused significant damage. Floors, walls, cabinets, doors....it was a huge job. Guess what the sellers put on their disclosure? Toilet & shower leak. He went over all the repairs with me. He does good work LOL! Anyway the next thing I know the inspector said we have a huge problem. House has polybutylene plumbing and do I want to continue with the inspection or stop right there. Talked it over with my realtor and GC and we can replumb the house for about $4-5K. The seller disclosure checked off "not aware" for PB plumbing. They had to have known. They built the damn house and wouldn't it have been found in the previous buyer's inspection? Lord knows what else they lied about on the disclosure.

So inspection is done and there's nothing standing out that needs any immediate attention except for the plumbing. We asked the sellers for $5K back at closing. They answered that the previous buyer's quote was $4600 and that they would give us 60% of that cost back at closing. HECK NO! We felt so deceived and our realtor sent this email:

Today is the last day of the inspection period so I can't push the discussion until tomorrow without risking the buyer's escrow which I am not willing to do. I was hoping we could talk, but since that isn't an option, I will summarize the current state in the email. To be blunt, the buyers are upset. They feel they were deceived intentionally. The seller's disclosure states that the seller is not aware if the house has polybutylene plumbing yet there has been a prior discussion with the previous buyer to get a quote on replacing the supply plumbing. That, along with the prior two pipe issues that are documented, make it very difficult to believe the sellers are not aware that they have polybutylene plumbing.

The buyers offered full price because they knew the sellers had been through a rough time with the prior contract and they didn't really want to make the process difficult for them again. If they had known the plumbing was poly, they probably would have purchased anyway and we could have taken that into account at some point. But being left to "discover" it during inspections has frustrated them and they are no longer willing to absorb any part of the cost to replace the plumbing. They will accept the bid of $4600 that you mentioned earlier.

At this point, there are two options -
1) We can release and cancel the contract. I have included a buyer signed R&C with this email.
2) The sellers can agree to provide a $4600 credit to the buyers at closing. I have included a buyer signed addendum stating that and closing inspections with this email.

Let me know which way your sellers want to go. At this point, it is an issue of principle with the buyers. They will not cover any of the expense for this issue. They'd rather walk away despite the money spent to date.


We got a reply this morning. We will be getting $4600 back at closing 😁 It really was a matter of principle for us. We don't like dishonest people and we really would have walked away from the house. Something else would have come along.
 
Ugh! Things like that are so frustrating, but I'm glad you were able to stand your ground! I don't get why people are purposefully so dishonest- I can't stand lying.

I'm excited to follow along with your house progress- please keep sharing :)
 
So here's a funny story...
The previous owners of our house owned a car dealership. About a year or two after we bought the house, my father was in the market for a new car, and he shopped around at a few dealerships, including the one owned by the former owner of our house. My dad didn't love the price they were quoting him at that dealership, so he asked to speak to the owner (the salespeople didn't want to let him speak to the owner, but he gave them his drivers license and said to show it to the owner, and then one of the owners came out to talk to him when they saw the address). So this person who owned the dealership (and used to own our house) comes out and asks my father about the house. And my father goes, "Well actually..." and starts listing all the things that went wrong in the first few months in the house (including us needing to replace the hot water heater, which only lasts a certain number of years and they definitely would have known it needed to be replaced soon and should have either replaced it or told us, but whatever).
They knocked down the quote on the car (but my dad still ended up buying elsewhere).

Anyway ... sorry to hear about your house drama. I cannot believe these people thought they could get away with pretending not to know about the pb plumbing. I'm glad they owned up to it enough to give you back the money at closing. Kudos to you for sticking to your principles and not letting them get away with the deception.
 
Good gosh, why can't anything ever be easy and drama free? Glad y'all were able to work it out!

This is my fifth house purchase and by far has been the easiest. Crazy, I know!

Ugh! Things like that are so frustrating, but I'm glad you were able to stand your ground! I don't get why people are purposefully so dishonest- I can't stand lying.

I'm excited to follow along with your house progress- please keep sharing :)

I will! It’s a complete makeover of the house plus an addition of a garage with rooms above so I’ll definitely post pics showing the progress.

So here's a funny story...
The previous owners of our house owned a car dealership. About a year or two after we bought the house, my father was in the market for a new car, and he shopped around at a few dealerships, including the one owned by the former owner of our house. My dad didn't love the price they were quoting him at that dealership, so he asked to speak to the owner (the salespeople didn't want to let him speak to the owner, but he gave them his drivers license and said to show it to the owner, and then one of the owners came out to talk to him when they saw the address). So this person who owned the dealership (and used to own our house) comes out and asks my father about the house. And my father goes, "Well actually..." and starts listing all the things that went wrong in the first few months in the house (including us needing to replace the hot water heater, which only lasts a certain number of years and they definitely would have known it needed to be replaced soon and should have either replaced it or told us, but whatever).
They knocked down the quote on the car (but my dad still ended up buying elsewhere).

Anyway ... sorry to hear about your house drama. I cannot believe these people thought they could get away with pretending not to know about the pb plumbing. I'm glad they owned up to it enough to give you back the money at closing. Kudos to you for sticking to your principles and not letting them get away with the deception.

That’s a crazy story! I’m expecting all sorts of stuff to pop up, but we bought for the land and location. It’s 2 miles from my current house. Very country (streets have no lights or sidewalks and there were deer in the pasture on Monday!) yet close to amenities and the highway.

Glad you caught on to them and held your ground!

Honestly, we figured they’d cave. They have refinanced the house so many times and need the cash. If they got stupid and agreed to cancel something else would have come along! We had no qualms about walking away. This is a business transaction and as beautiful as the parcel is you gotta keep emotion out of it!
 
Wow! Glad it all worked out but it seems like nothing can be easy some times.

Also best of luck on your race in Chicago. That is very exciting. I’m actually writing this post from chi town as I am here for work. It seems like a great city and I would love to run a race here some day.
 
Exciting things happened today!

I got this from @DopeyBadger

View attachment 415913


to train for this

View attachment 415914

I registered for the Chicago 10 miler instead of the half in New Hampshire. Logistically & financially it's a bit easier for me since I don't have to rent a car and can fly on points and book my hotel with points. Plus my favorite meal after racing is pizza and I've never had true Chicago deep dish pizza!

Stopping in because I saw your post on my thread that you are running this one! That's great!!! If you have any Chicago questions or need anything when you are in town just let me know (or when trip planning.)

I'll be sure to keep up to date on your journal because it will give me some much needed motivation to see someone else working towards the same thing.
 
Stopping in because I saw your post on my thread that you are running this one! That's great!!! If you have any Chicago questions or need anything when you are in town just let me know (or when trip planning.)

I'll be sure to keep up to date on your journal because it will give me some much needed motivation to see someone else working towards the same thing.

I'm planning on flying in on Friday then probably flying home on Sunday unless we can convince a grandparent to come babysit. Then my DH would come and we would probably stay until Monday. The most important thing I need on Saturday is pizza. I want real deep dish pizza. Lots of it!
 
I'm planning on flying in on Friday then probably flying home on Sunday unless we can convince a grandparent to come babysit. Then my DH would come and we would probably stay until Monday. The most important thing I need on Saturday is pizza. I want real deep dish pizza. Lots of it!

Now that I can help you with!!! I’ll start looking at proximity of race course to pizzas for you :)
Although if I could somehow convince my husband to bring us a deep dish pizza at the finishers area...... :ssst:
 
07/08/2019 - 07/14/2019
I was pretty much just doing whatever on Monday & Tuesday. I got a new plan from @DopeyBadger on Tuesday to train for a 10 mile race October 5th in Chicago. I needed to get off the treadmill and get outdoors more to have my body adapt to the pounding on the concrete and pavement.​

Monday
  • Running
    • Plan: nothing
    • Actual: 4.5mi @ 11:49
    • Splits: 11:56, 11:50, 11:48, 11:44, 11:45
  • Strength
    • skipped
I ran before we had the house inspection which I went over in a previous post. It took longer than I expected. Nick and I both had appointments in the afternoon. I'm not an evening gym person so I just ended up skipping.

Tuesday
  • Running
    • Plan: nothing
    • Actual: 5mi @ 10:56
    • Splits: 10:56, 10:58, 10:55, 10:54, 10:54
  • Strength
    • Back & Biceps
I went outdoors for this run! I usually run on my treadmill in my sports bra and shorts. It was so hot outside so I said to hell with it and ran outside in just my sports bra and shorts. I will still a sweaty mess, but not having a wet shirt clinging to me was awesome.

Wednesday
  • Running
    • Plan: 4mi @ EA 11:44
    • Actual: 4mi @ 11:50
    • Splits: 11:57, 11:50, 11:49, 11:45
  • Strength
    • Chest & Triceps
Thursday
  • Running: off
  • Strength
    • skipped
I woke up and my neck and shoulder were in quite a bit of pain. I could barely lift my arm! Great. I was scheduled to work at the barn for AM & Lunch. I was in so much pain I didn't go to the gym afterwards. I spent the rest of the day icing, using biofreeze and taking motrin.

Friday
  • Running
    • Plan: 4mi @ EB 10:57 plus strides in the last mile
    • Actual: 4mi @ 10:42
    • Splits: 11:00, 10:57, 10:57, 9:56
  • Strength
    • skipped
I was up at 5am so I could run outdoors. I fell asleep on the couch while drinking my coffee and reading the morning news 😴 Oops. I used the treadmill. My neck/shoulder was still really sore so I skipped the gym again.

Saturday
  • Running
    • Plan: 6mi @ LR 10:40
    • Actual: 6mi @ 10:36
    • Splits: 10:41, 10:35, 10:38, 10:34, 10:33, 10:35
  • Strength
    • off
A bit fast on some of those miles, but I was OUTSIDE. There is such a feeling of freedom when you are running outdoors. I left my neighborhood to run through town and on part of a running/biking path. I missed seeing this view.

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After running I went to the barn to give Miss Diva a bath. She loves bath time!

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My neck/shoulder had been feeling fine until I bathed her. By evening it was hurting pretty bad again. I had planned on popping into Epcot to watch Illuminations, but decided to stay home, watch movies and eat pizza.

Sunday
I must have pulled a muscle at the gym during my chest/tricep workout. My neck & shoulder were still sore!
 
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Our upstairs AC broke. Every AC unit in my neighborhood has faulty AC coils and our warranties will do nothing until they die. It’s a defect from the manufacturer and they refuse to fix. Warranty through the AC company that installed them is only good for two years from your closing date. I knew our luck would run out. Our two years is up on 7/29. We were told yesterday that, yup, we have a leaky coil. It can’t be fixed until Monday, but we don’t have to pay for it. Well, today our downstairs A/C decided it doesn’t want to work now 😭 It was 106 with the heat index today. They can’t get here until Friday to look at it.
 

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