Big changes, Less money

I'm really bad about keeping up with this thing, aren't I?

I had a big blog drafted and saved weeks ago but I never posted it. It was a long-winded whine session about my old company. It was written "in the moment", therefore it was full of all of the feelings reminiscent of when I was actually employed there. I sat on it for a while and realized it wasn't worth my time, nor yours, to post it. But, I can at least summarize the drama since I still think it's interesting (and it's finally all public information): Coast IRB was caught in a congressional sting in March. They essentially approved a fake research study full of flaws. The supposed purpose of the sting was to see if IRB's were doing their job. The CEO testified in DC to no avail, because just weeks later the FDA was knocking on their door. Now the company has announced that they will be closing. Only a handful of employees remain, most of my friends were laid off. It's been very strange watching it from the "outside", and I feel horrible for my friends who weren't able to escape like me...but I think they're just relieved it's all finally coming to an end. We have yet to see just what the ramifications of the latest FDA audit will be, but I'm not sure they can do much as far as sanctions against the owner since he's voluntarily closing the doors. I just hope that he gets what has been coming his way for a while...and that's all I will say. :o)

And for the BIGGEST news...we put an offer on a house this last weekend and as of 10pm last night we are under contract! I'm pretty sure we set a world record for fastest accepted offer, especially in this market. We had looked at about a dozen houses over the span of a few weeks, and when we found this one, we knew it was the one. I told Adam it was the same feeling I had when I tried on my wedding dress! The Realtor even made us sit in the couches in the home to "test it out, see how it feels". And it totally reinforced that we belonged in that house! We put in our offer Sunday morning and by Monday evening it was confirmed...yeah, that's pretty quick. Especially since the house had only been on the market 2 days by the time we found it!!! I've posted pics on facebook, so check them out! Callie is going to LOVE the yard and the cat will enjoy the multiple "kitty perches" throughout the house. I'm just glad we'll have a place to call home for a long, long time (ok well at least 5-7 years). It's my 4th move in 2 years, and Adam's 3rd I believe, but it's sooooo worth it. We close on June 24th....so much to do before then, I'm sure it'll fly by!

This new investment has been quite a grown-up shock....I wrote the biggest check of my life today, and we have one more due in June that is 3 times as much!! I'm sure we could be classified as clinically insane for getting married and buying a house in the same year, but with the mortgage rates the way they are & the $8,000 tax break we'll get, we couldn't pass it up. Things will be tight for a while...our mortgage + insurance + tax will be about $300 more a month than we're paying now but at least this money isn't going to waste. And, as our realtor put it, we're young adults at the beginning of our career and our salaries can only (hopefully) go up, so it'll get easier over time I'm sure. We're just so fortunate to be in a place that allows us to do this now. It's a great present to ourselves before the wedding, and it will be nice to come home to a real HOME after we're Mr. & Mrs.