Gov't cheese.

Are you sitting down? No really, you need to sit down if you aren't already. Okay, so even though I 100% do not support Obama or his stimulus packages, Brett and I were supposedly going to benefit from this new one they just passed. In it, included a $8,000 tax credit to first-time home buyers that purchased a house between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009. Well I thought it was too good to be true, but I checked into it anyway. Come to find out, we really were entitled to this credit. And it doesn't just come out of your taxable income, it is literally an $8,000 check that the IRS writes you. So after I did our taxes, looked them over and even had my mom look them over, the Govt owes us $9,700 that they will soon be depositing into our checking account!!!!!! I can't believe it!!! The gov't is going to give us almost $10,000!! Brett and I are so excited and happy we can't even stand it. For once, hard working people that have done everything right are going to benefit from a gov't handout. I thought it was impossible to get anything handed to you from the gov't unless you were a complete loser in life. But we ought to get something for not sucking off the system and going out there everyday and working hard. So we will take the money and payoff Brett's car. Mine will be paid off in Sept. and depending on what the exact payoff is on both of our cars, we may be able to pay them both off with the refund check. So that will make our house the absolute only debt we have. Oh it feels so good to not have to worry about debt!!!!! Thank you God for all your blessings!!! I feel like he is watching out for us left and right and just pouring down blessings in our life right now. I know the economy is beating a lot of people down, but we have been lucky enough to not feel the pain of it. so far. I hope it continues this way.

SOLD!

Well I sold my very first truck last week! I have to admit, it feels pretty good to say that. Thinking I can do it and knowing I can are two different things and now that I know I can do it, I feel much more confident about pursuing this career. I had to ask my dad, mom, and Tom a few questions here and there to get this deal done, but for the most part I was able to do it on my own. This customer was a first time buyer, so being that I was a first time salesperson...it was pretty cool. I sold Eric a 2006 Freightliner Columbia, which we are pretty new at selling, but since my dad is such a good buyer it makes it a lot easier to sell them. Now onto the next deal!! I'm working on selling that 2005 Kenworth W900L that was pictured in my previous blog. I'll be praying really hard that the guy I've been talking to buys it. But I'm pretty happy about my first one still!

25 questions about Brett and I

Okay i stole this from Casey, but thought it was cute. So I'm going to fill it out.

This is kind of like the 25 things - except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your significan other, not just you. Then tag whoever you want to do this! Come on, play along - inquiring minds want to know!

♥ What are your middle names? Joseph & Jean

♥ How long have you been together? November 2003

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Like 2 weeks

♥ Who asked who out? Well Brett kind of asked me I guess. Actually after about 2 weeks he just started introducing me as his girlfriend to see how I would react.

♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? His, I guess.

♥ Do you have any children together? We're working on it!

♥ What about pets? We have 2 Pugs. Bentley and Patsy. They're a mess.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? In-law issues.

♥ Did you go to the same school? We went to the same high school, just didn't know either existed back then.

♥ Are you from the same home town? Yeah. Boring ol' South Bend, IN and yes we both successfully got out! But I do miss the snow. I can't say that much for Brett.

♥ Who is smarter? It just depends what the subject matter is. If it's about electrical stuff or technological things, he's got me beat.

♥ Who is more sensitive? That also depends. Brett's a pretty sensitive guy, but I'm still a woman.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Hmmmmm....I have no idea. We don't eat out much, but right now I'd have to say we are in love with Red Robin.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Colorado for our skiing/snowboarding trip. That was fun!

♥ Who has the craziest exes? Well beings I don't have any exes...I'd have to say his exes are the craziest. And crazy is an understatement.

♥ Who has the worse temper? Hello!!!! Do you know who you're talking to?! I do of course!

♥ Who does the cooking? I do 99.9% of the cooking. These days that includes getting up at 5:30 and cooking eggs, bacon, and toast; packing his lunch; and then cooking dinner when I get home from work. Just call me Betty Crocker.

♥ Who is more social? Brett is far more social than me. He's a comedian!

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Brett says I have OCD because I regularly check to make sure the couch is lined up perfectly with the lines in the hard wood floor. But yes, I am a complete neat freak. Brett...not so much.

♥ Who is the more stubborn? Stubborn? No, not me...

♥ Who hogs the bed? It used to be Bentley, but it's Brett nowadays even though he swears that he sleeps on the edge.

♥ Who wakes up earlier? I get up at 5:30 and he usually gets up about 20 mins later.

♥ Where was your first date? I'm gonna have to say Steak N Shake. Yea I know...but I can't remember where are first "real" date took place. That was over 5 years ago!

♥ Who has the bigger family? He does by far! He has like 20 cousins. I have 2. Nuf said.

♥ Do you get flowers often? Not often, because I stress to him it's a waste of money, but he sneaks them in there every once in a while.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? The last couple have been spent running around between our parents' houses, but these next holidays we'll be staying at home and letting our families come to us.

♥ Who is more jealous? There is nothing to be jealous of anymore. We're married!!!

♥ How long did it take to get serious? Well Brett asked me if I would marry him about 2 months after we started dating, so I'd have to say it was pretty serious then.

♥ Who eats more? Brett's a machine.

♥ Who does/ did the laundry? Is that even a question? Of course, I do.

♥ Who’s better with the computer? I'd say it's pretty even.

♥ Who drives when you are together? It's about 50/50. If we need more space we take my car, but otherwise he drives.

Learning a new trade

Well from here on out I get to learn how to sell these things. In case you're a little confused, I'm talking about Class 8 heavy duty trucks aka semi trucks. Ever since I graduated in December and became full time at my parents' dealership, I've been trying to soak up every bit of information I can about these things so that I can turn around and sell them. Well, I am surprised on how much I've picked up so fast, but considering I've been around them my whole life, I don't know as much as I should. But let's face it, there is a lot to know!!! I've got to know the years, makes, models, engines, transmissions, suspensions, wheelbases, rear end ratios, weight capacities, horsepower, cab styles/sizes, sleeper styles/sizes, interior styles, and all the extra pieces on the trucks, such as air horns, bullet lights, visors, breathers, fender guards, texas square bumpers, breather lights, chicken lights and the list goes on. It's a little intimidating to say the least. Then I've got to wrap it all up into a package and try to sell it somebody. It's not easy and I have a lot more respect for my dad knowing that he's been so successful at a career that is so difficult. It's nothing like selling a car by any means. When someone is spending $60K, $70K, $80k + on a used vehicle, it takes a lot more convincing to get them sold. But I'm trying my hardest to have what it takes to make it in this industry. Let me tell you, college could never have prepared me for this.

So I've yet to sell my first truck, but when that day comes (hopefully fairly soon) I will be jumping for joy. I think I'll be so excited I might actually pee my pants. But one more piece of the puzzle needs to be completed to further me in this career even more. I need to get my CDL. I thought it wouldn't be any big deal to get it, I would just have to study the manual a little bit and go get my permit. Wrong!!! I have to know how to do a full truck inspection before I can get it. That translates to having to know every last screw, bolt, hanger, etc. on a truck!! It's so overwhelming it's kind of made me procrastinate on studying. I really have to do it though, there is not much choice. If I want to sell trucks, I've got to be able to legally drive them. Anyhow, that's just a glimpse into what I've been learning since graduating from college about 6 weeks ago. Wish me luck in my new endeavor!!

So Brett and I got things cleaned up halfway decently and I thought it would be a good opportunity to take some pictures of the house. They're in here backwards...but you'll get the idea. Here they are:

Moving on Up

Well Brett and I finally got through the nightmare that was getting closed on our house and we are officially moved in and loving it! If I complain at all about unpacking, someone please slap me and remind me that I could still be living in a 2 bedroom apartment surrounded by boxes. Yes, I must admit it's much better being in a house surrounded by boxes. We are soooooooo excited about our new home and can't wait to have people over for dinner, parties, movie nights, holidays, etc.

Patsy and Bentley are sort of enjoying the backyard, but considering it's been in the 20s the last couple of days, they aren't as excited about it as I had expected. But just wait until it warms up and I find the bag of balls I had hidden from them in the apt. Bentley loves playing with balls, but I took them all away from him while we were still in the apt. because he kept rolling them under the furniture. He can have them back now.

If you're wondering how the big move went, all I can say is that we have the best friends and family anyone could ask for. Dustin, Sarah, Zac, Gary, Kasey, and Cody all came to help us move. They also brought along their vehicles which helped out tremendously. I couldn't be more appreciative of what they did for us, because it made it 100 times easier on us. Big props to them.

So I've already unpacked a lot of stuff and the house looks half way decent. I tackled the kitchen on Sunday and worked on hanging up decorations and cleaning and unpacking our bathroom yesterday. I also put together our second nightstand. Brett got the garage all cleaned up and organized and we got both of our cars parked in there last night! So I'm thinking we'll be ready for a house warming party next weekend. We can't wait!!! I'll put some pictures up here once we have the place uncluttered a little bit. Later!

Two days and counting.

There's only two days left until Brett and I become homeowners for the first time. We are extremely excited about this huge step we're making, and although some would be nervous about making this kind of commitment with the economy the way it is, we couldn't be more sure of it. We were patient and never let ourselves get emotionally attached to a house, because we wanted the best deal we could find and we knew they were out there. I said going in that I wanted to pay $80 to $90 per square foot for a house and I can't tell you how many said it couldn't be done. I knew the market was way down and we weren't going to be foolish about our purchase. In the end, we ended up paying $84 per square foot for our house and locked in our interest rate at 5.125%. It doesn't get a whole lot better than that. We also made the seller pay for a new roof and HVAC unit. So this 12 year old house has new carpet, new paint, new linoleum floors in the kitchen and bathrooms, a new roof, and a new HVAC unit. We truly believe God has answered our prayers (and boy have we been praying a lot) and has blessed us with a nicer home than we could have ever expected to purchase our first time around. The process has been long and extremely exhausting, but it has all been worth it. I have shed my fair share of tears over the last few months and wondered to myself if getting a deal was really worth the struggle, but I tell you now, it was!!

I can not wait to have our house warming party and invite all of our friends and family over. At least those that live here in TN. I'm going to cook up lots of goodies and even challenge my friend, Kasey, to a throwdown. We both love to cook (she's far more talented in the kitchen than I) and with a little extra room to move around, we should be able to make some delicious treats. I keep telling my puppies about the big backyard they are getting, but they just don't seem very excited. I'm sure they'll come around once they see it. I'm just happy that I won't have to put them on a leash and walk them around everytime they need to do their business.

I guess the next step after a house, will be a baby. Our parents have been hounding us for some grandkids, but it just doesn't happen over night. It'll happen when it happens, but we're doing everything in our power to make sure it happens sooner rather than later. :) Anyway that's all for now and the next time I post, I'll be a proud homeowner. YAY!!!!