Feel Better...A Penny Black Cutie by Mo Manning

Hey, everybody!  I know my posts have started to become even fewer and further between than they were a few weeks ago, and they might become even more scarce as we move through May and into June, but I have a pretty good excuse.  Kirk and I sold our townhouse!  WHOOP WHOOP!  The timing could not have been any more perfect.  

We had made a contingency offer on another house almost a month ago.  Everything was coming together perfectly except for one tiny detail...we needed to sell our house before we could move forward on the other one.  One momentary delay or timing difference might mean we could lose this house to someone else.  Oh, yeah!  NO PRESSURE!!!  

The days slowly, almost agonizingly crept by and what only amounted to 28 days felt like 28 years.  Everyday, sometimes more than once, I would pull up the listing on the other house to make sure it was still on the market.  This was a completely insane, compulsive action on my part, because we had First Right of Refusal if they received another offer, meaning they would contact our realtor to see if we could remove the contingency and proceed with the purchase.  What did I think?  That the realtors were going to get together and conspire on ways to break my heart, laughing maniacally behind the scenes as I burst into tears as someone swept in and secretly bought this house out from under us?  I don't know a lot of realtors, so yes, maybe.  Actually, that's not how it works.  If another offer came in, we would get a call, however, it wouldn't really change anything.   We, like lots of folks, would not be able to juggle 2 mortgages, so selling our townhouse was an absolute must.  

Each time a realtor scheduled a showing, I was put off when an offer didn't arrive the next day.  Strange dialogues danced through my head...What?!  You don't like my house?!  My house is GREAT!!  What's wrong with YOU!!!!  Soon these thoughts turned into...nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I think I'll go eat worms.  Emotionally I became a super needy 12-year old, and not selling our house became a symbol for how I could not attain society's approval...LOL!!!  Deep stuff, I know!  

Friday, after I had decided to sit down and throw myself a Pity Party, complete with an Evite to my friends and a creepy party clown, we received the news.  A couple had made an offer on our house!  And not a moment too soon.  We found out that another offer was received on the other house just 3 hours after we lifted the contingency!  That is crazy timing!  I'm kind of thinking we were meant to buy this house.  Too many signs too numerous to list have pointed us in the direction of this new place.  

I know, we are very blessed to have sold our house in under a month, but when you're in the midst of selling a house, you just don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.  Will one month turn into two?  Three?  Six?  Twelve?  So many uncertainties.  So many horror stories.  Lucky for us, ours has a happy ending.  To anyone with their home on the market right now, I'm sending out positive home selling vibes.  May your home sale be swift and without complications, and may your dream home be just around the corner :)

By the way, I made a card.  It has absolutely nothing to do with this marathon post, but I'll tell you a wee bit about it.  I used an image by Mo Manning for Penny Black called Wishing You Well.  These images that Mo is doing for PB just really make my heart skip a beat.  They are a joy to color and make the perfect focal point for a card.  No need to add a bunch of embellishments, because the images are so fabulous.  I picked up this one and several more from my local stamp store, China Phoenix 2, and I just can't wait to squeeze in some more coloring time to use them.  If you're in or around the Albuquerque area, drop by the shop to check them out, otherwise, find them online in the Penny Black Store. 

That's it for now.  Until next time, stay crafty!