D-E-A-L-ish

I'm on my way to meet my real estate agent and pick up my keys!  wheeeeeeeeeeee!

I can't believe it's all over. I couldn't be more excited about the way things turned out, either :)

So, I have a birthday coming up. At least that's what the piles of birthday freebies in the mail keep telling me. "Celebrate with us! It's your Birthday!" It's a good thing they reminded me, or else I'd never know.

And I just found a cookbook I really must have.

I know, I know. I say that about all cookbooks. But, you know, I only mention the cookbooks I really must have. The truth is, I have very selective filters for purchasing cookbooks. Otherwise, I'd have no room for furniture. I'd probably have to sleep on a pile of cookbooks. *grins*

Really, how perfect is this for me? I think it would look lovely in my shiny new kitchen. Which just happens to be located across the street from a Trader Joe's. Ahhhhh I love you Trader Joe's. And your bountiful supply of cheap wine.

Now Hannah, go discuss with Mom or someone so I don't end up getting doubles. Teeheehee.

P.S. A few Trader Joe's blogs that I've found extremely useful (in case you shop there as frequently as I do):

Jason's Wine Blog:  Great resource! I love Jason's top ten Trader Joe's wine lists. I found out about the Chariot Gypsy, got a couple bottles FOR FIVE DOLLARS SO CHEAP OMG, loved it, and went back to the store to pick up an entire case, and they were all out already! Sigh. Oh well, I've moved on to my newest favorite, the Le Petit Trader Joe's Reserve Cabernet Franc. At $5.99, it's a very good deal as well. And I do love me some cab franc.

Cooking with Trader Joe's: Based off the cookbook, I just found this today. I look forward to picking up some helpful tips.

Now time for a true story about Trader Joe's.

While shopping in TJ's yesterday, I learned that they sell frozen avocado halves. Four in a box, for something like $2.29.  You just pop out a half of an avocado and thaw it and leave the rest in the freezer. Perfect in a pinch when you can't find any ripe avocados, or for leaving in the freezer for those avocado emergencies (c'mon, don't tell me you don't have those, like, every single day). It is kind of cool that you can use just one half without the other half going bad. Or being a glutton and consuming it right there on the spot.  

I totally didn't plan on making this entire post about my love affair with Trader Joe's. But somehow, I just did :)

I've been meaning to downgrade my internet for a while now, but never got around to it. Now that I'm moving soon, I called up Cox to transfer to the new house. They offered me a "$32.95 PREFERRED INTERNET-2 MONTH OFFER." I'm currently paying $59.95 for "Cox HSI Premier with Powerboost"! This saves me $27 a month. Pretty schnazzy. Of course, after the two months is up, I intend on calling them up and switching to a value package for the same rate.

It's been a while since I've shopped for internet, but it looks like Cox has introduced a couple of packages to help customers out in this depressed economy.  In the Phoenix area they offer a Value package for $32.95, which has 1.5Mbps download speeds and 256Kbps up. From Slickdeals, it looks like others are getting the Value package for as cheap as $24.99. It also looks like there is an Economy package offered in some areas, with rates as low as $19.99. So check out their website to see what current rates and speeds are offered for your area.

I had previously upgraded to the Premier package, which has 25Mbps down and 1.5Mbps up, for my old roommate, who paid the extra $15 difference in price. But for me, this is WAY overkill - I never do anything beyond basic internet surfing, gmail checking and deals shopping. And the occasional you tube watching. I don't game. And I don't really download much of anything. Now that I won't have roommates who hog the internet with all their torrent downloads, I will probably be A-OK with a slower connection speed.

Don't forget, Glidden is giving away free paint, while supplies last. I was drawn to the 'Homemade Butterscotch.' What color will you choose?

This month seems eternally long! My closing date is still set for July 14th. I plan on being completely moved out of my current place by July 31st. I've chosen my lender after much deliberation (Quicken Loans), rode out one of the most volatile weeks in the stock market, locked in my 30yr fixed loan interest rate at 4.99%, and had my inspection on Monday. Not to mention had one of the most hectic work weeks ever last week - the sump pump stalled in one of my rooms, backing up chemical into all the CDMs (chemical distribution modules) on that drain line and shutting them down. That means we stopped flow of ALL developer to the litho tools for a good four hours. It's pretty hard to shut down an entire litho fleet, but somehow we did it. During the investigation, we also found that 90% of the drain lines were clogged with a white solid, which is the ammonium hydroxide reacting with the calcium in the city water. Our water is so hard here in Phoenix, it causes all sorts of problems. We got to boroscope the lines, and then we had to pull in emergency contractors to replace the p-traps. Fun times in the factory.

I've begun appliance shopping and already found a smoking deal on a stainless steel Maytag refrigerator and Bosch dishwasher in Fountain Hills. $900 for the pair! The fridge is a wide-by-side model, which means it's wider on the fridge side on the top, so you can fit pizza boxes, cookie sheets, etc; things you would normally have a hard time fitting in a side-by-side fridge. Plus, I get to sell the current dishwasher that is in the house (a Frigidaire Professional Series). It was installed by the builder, so it's brand new and will help offset the cost of the other appliances. I read the reviews of the Frigidaire, and was not impressed at all. It seems to have fires and flooding problems quite often, so I was looking for a more reliable, (yet used) model on Craigslist. The old saying "Seek and ye shall find" was definitely the case here. I typed in what I wanted on Craiglist, and voila! A brand new listing that day!

Did I mention how excited I am to be getting a Bosch dishwasher? I've always heard how quiet the Bosches are, and they look pretty sleek too. I never thought I'd get this giddy over appliances ;) Plus the deal hunter in me is getting a kick out of it. Mako is gifting me with a new washer/dryer set for my birthday/housewarming gift, and for choosing her as my realtor. I'm having fun looking at all the different models. So far, I think I'm going to go with a Fisher and Paykel. I'm looking at a top-loading high efficiency model. I think a top-loading dryer will be nice, too. A German dishwasher and an Australian washer and dryer. How very unAmerican of me!

The one thing I really like about the dishwasher and the washer/dryer set that I've been looking at is that both are very energy efficient. My water bill should thank me.

And now for some pictures. These were taken by Mako on the first day we viewed it, the day before I put my offer in.

The front yard:

From 6.11.09 My New House

The kitchen and my new domain. Staggered cabinets, nice arch, deep pantry, wide open layout overlooking the living room area. It's not my DREAM kitchen, but it will certainly do for my first very own kitchen.

From 6.11.09 My New House

In the master bedroom. Love the French doors. Look through them, and you can see the fireplace in the backyard.

From 6.11.09 My New House

The laundry room. I love the cute white cabinets,and how big and airy it feels. The bonus room is through that door.

From 6.11.09 My New House

The bonus room. This was the most unusual part of the house for me. It's 9x13, so rather narrow and long...and unexpected. But now very welcome. I'm thinking future gym? I'll probably put my deep freezer in here for now, which should help cut down on electricity bills (as opposed to having it in the garage.)

From 6.11.09 My New House

The garage. Check out all the storage! And the workbench. My inspector was quite impressed with the fan - he's never seen a garage with a fan before. Classy.

From 6.11.09 My New House

The backyard. Everyone who sees the pictures 'ooh' and 'aah' over the backyard. The extended patio is awesome, and the fireplace will be fun for entertaining. The landscaping is quite gorgeous. I'll upload more pictures showing more of the landscape at another time. There are at least three citrus trees. Not sure if they are lemon or lime. And a million other trees. I have to find out what everything is so I can take care of it :)

From 6.11.09 My New House

Meeting my future neighbors. Seems to be a friendly and quiet neighborhood. I should fit right in :)

From 6.11.09 My New House

Sign up and receive a coupon for a FREE DiGiorno Flatbread Melt in the mail.

Download the Arrested Development pilot from iTunes for free. This is less of a post for a free video and more of an advertisement for what I believe to be the best. television. series. ever.

Hurry - this offer expires soon. Downloads posted on the free iTunes blog usually expire after a week. It's still free as of this morning!

Boy, the free deals keep on pouring in! This one I'm particularly interested in, as a potential new homeowner soon...

Free Quart of Paint From Glidden on June 25. The details on this offer are few but I wanted to give an early heads up so you could be thinking of some projects you might like to use your free paint on.

Download a coupon for a free Light Smoothie from Orange Julius on June 19th.

Personally, blegh. "Light" is synonymous with artificial sweetener. Gross. Don't worry, I won't judge you =)

Take this printable coupon to Beauty Brands to get a FREE full-size American Crew Shave Cream or a FREE full-size OPI Nail Lacquer (choose from four shades). Click here to find a location near you. Offer expires 6/28.

There is a Beauty Brands located at 50th and Ray - about two minutes away from me! Sweet!

The National Park service has planned 3 weekends this summer to allow visitors to explore national parks FREE! Entry fees will be waived June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16. This does not include camping, reservations, or tours.

I love fresh pineapple!  Fry’s has Del Monte Golden Pineapples on sale for just $1 through tomorrow, Tuesday, June 16th. Pair the sale with the $0.50/1 Del Monte Golden Pineapple printables found here and here, and you’ve got yourself 4 FREE pineapples. You can print 2 of each coupon!

Am I the perfect candidate for the Cash for Clunkers Program? I have a 1993 SUV with 191,000 miles, worth probably no more than $1K, getting 19mpg on a good day. It's almost as though this bill were designed for me.

Will I take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers Program? Absolutely not. No new car fever here.

Will this drive everyone around me absolutely insane? Probably.

I just received my credit scores from the three Credit Bureaus (as part of my pre-approval application).

It looks like it has been long enough since my experiment with credit card arbitrage (borrowing large sums at 0%APY to earn 6% in the bank), as my score has significantly improved since my last credit pull.  An increase of over 50 points! Good time to be house shopping =)

The number one reason for the "less than perfect" scores? Too many accounts. I can live with that, if it means I still have a score above 800 ;)

Transunion: 789
Experian: 797
Equifax: 804

It looks like my first "big purchase after getting a full-time job" is a lot bigger than I expected!

If all goes according to plan, I should be a homeowner in less than 30 days! Eeek. I'm sort of in a state of half shock, half excitement. I don't think the reality of the situation has quite sunk in yet.

I've definitely had a few heart palpitations over the past few days. And I've had a few more today just thinking about the mortgage shopping process and the long road ahead of me.  This is a HUGE decision to make in a matter of days, let me tell you! The amount of the loan that I have been pre-approved for is mind-blowing. That's a whole lotta debt for a 27-soon-to-be-28-year-old gal who has NEVER, EVER BEEN IN DEBT. 

I only started looking at homes two weeks ago with my friend, Mako, who is a real estate agent. In that time I saw many short sales, and frankly, I wasn't impressed with any of them. Some needed SERIOUS work, some had layouts that weren't appealing, and most had claustrophobically small kitchens. There was even one that nearly made me vomit when I walked in; there was trash that had been rotting for who knows how long, leaking a foul black liquid all over the kitchen tile. At that point, it became clear to me that all the good houses are snatched up right away, and you really have to scour the MLS listings for brand new listings every morning to catch any gems before they're off the market.

Also, in this timeframe, I really was getting tired of not having my own space to do what I want with. I love my new roommates so far, but seriously, the 1300sqft house is cramped with three tenants.  And I want my privacy. And I want to lay down the law. And keep everything spotless. And have space to organize all my crap. And finally be able to SETTLE DOWN. Oh, the value of settling down is not to be underestimated. I know the frugalista in me had said I could rent forever, and save oodles of money doing so, but my nesting urges took over.

I found this particular house on MLS early Thursday morning, got an instant gut reaction, and had Mako take me to see it Thursday night. By Friday afternoon I had put in an offer, and we went through some back and forth counter-offers before it was finally accepted on Sunday. Needless to say, I haven't gotten much sleep since Thursday. I've been learning AS MUCH AS I POSSIBLY CAN about buying homes. There's a lot I need to know. I'm sure I'll make mistakes, but I'm doing my best -- and I have great friends who have been fielding my questions left and right.

Here are a few of the reasons I instantly fell in love with the place (and had to talk myself into making an offer, since it was a bit higher than my original budget):

• Location, location location. It's located in Ahwatukee, about 5 minutes from where I currently live. (Even closer to my favorite sushi restaurant!) Major score on this one. I love, love, love the area after being here three years. It has a walkability score of 77, which is extremely high for a Phoenix house.
• It has all the ideal qualities I was looking for: one-story, no pool, open layout, decent sized kitchen with lots of cabinets, lots of storage space, separate shower and tub in master bathroom, walk-in closet, etc. Actually, after renting a house for three years, I found that I had a very good idea of what I wanted (read: I was pretty picky).
• It is brand new, built in 2009, which is ridiculously rare in Ahwatukee. The original house (built in 1993) burnt down, and they rebuilt it this year. According to the agent, the foundation and front wall are original, but everything else is new. (I have requested contruction documentation to verify this.) This means new roof, new A/C, new appliances, new paint, etc. The new house smell was definitely intoxicating.
• No HOA!!! I cannot believe that I found a neighborhood in Ahwatukee without an HOA. I'm still giddy over that one. All the houses and yards are beautiful, so the neighborhood certainly isn't suffering. Now I can save that $100/month payment and put it toward my landscaper. Which, judging by the jungle that I've inherited, I will definitely need.
• It's the perfect size! (2050 sqft) I was worried that I would end up getting a small house that I would quickly outgrow, and wouldn't be able to afford a house that I could see myself living in long term. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a den and a "bonus room."  All the houses in the neighborhood have the option of either having a 3-car garage or the bonus room. The bonus room is actually quite large.  I think it would make a perfect workout room ;)
• It is sold by owner. This is also extremely rare in this market. To me, it was worth paying a little extra just for the peace of mind of not having to wait several months to hear if my offer was accepted by the bank, and then several more months just for paperwork. I heard back within 24 hours on each of my offers, which was nice.
• Other perks (but not must-haves) -- French doors, stainless steel appliances (I just need to buy a fridge to match), vaulted ceilings, very big laundry room with cute white cupboards and a sink, tons of cabinets and a workbench in the garage, extended patio and fireplace in the backyard. It's also a corner lot, so the lot is bigger and there is only one set of immediate neighbors.
• The neighbors are friendly. We met and spoke with the neighbor across the street while we were looking at the house. She was extremely nice. She even told us her purchase price three years ago, which was $100K higher than what my house is going for now, new. Ouch.

As you can see, it wasn't a hard sell :) I just wanted to get my offer in before the weekend. I'm pretty proud of myself too, since I negotiated a final price $21K less than asking price.

I can still back out after the inspection, but considering the house is built in 2009, I don't think anything too drastic will come up. I'm curious to see what the house is appraised for, since we had a heck of a time determining a fair offer since there were no comparable recent homes sold in the area. As my friend David stated, in the end the house is worth whatever I'm willing to pay for it. I think we bottomed out on a very fair price.

My closing date is set for 7/14/09. Wish me luck, as I embark on this rollercoaster of a ride!  Also, any advice on the closing process is MUCH appreciated!

If you head over to this link and register you will receive a 5%, 10% or 15% coupon depending on the date United reaches 50,000 followers on Twitter.

The beauty of this offer is that you don't even have to sign up for a Twitter account to receive the coupon. I'm still holding out, thank you very much.

Sorry to keep you all waiting in suspense for so long.

The answer to the riddle in my last post is.....*drum roll please*..... Invisalign!

Yes, I am going to get braces. I've always wanted to "fix" my teeth, which involves both straightening them and whitening them. The entire process will be long, and expensive, and I won't be able to afford to do it all right away. But if I could pick anything I've been the most self-conscious about my entire life, it would be my teeth. Starting at the tender age of, oh, 5? Kids can be cruel. I remember being on the bus, having the bus bully (oh was she a brute) throwing things at me (rocks, pieces of glass), and taunting me. I don't remember ALL the things she would say to me (oh boy there was a lot), but I do remember her making fun of my teeth. Something to the effect of me not brushing them. Oh, and by the way, she was totally unoriginal. I had already heard that, oh FIVE HUNDRED MILLION TIMES from all the other snarkety kids in my class.

See, back when I was a wee tot, I had nice big ole' yellow spots (the technical term is "mottling") on a backdrop of white and shiny teeth. And all children equate yellow teeth with not brushing teeth. Yes, it's petty. And yes, I got over it. Especially the older I got, the more my peers matured, and the more yellow the rest of my teeth became. Camouflage, baby.

I actually had fluorosis, which, put simply, is a mottling of the teeth caused by ingesting too much fluoride (I won't get into the whole fluoride conspiracy here, but it's interesting. Kind of like the dairy conspiracy. Look it up! ). The crookedness, well, that's just genetics, and luckily it's mostly just my bottom row of teeth. Even more luckily, I don't have an underbite. Heh.

But each time I get a new dentist, they like to remind me. They always like to point to this or that and go "you know, we can fix that." I've always sighed and said "someday" with that wistful far-off Scarlett O'Hara look. Someday when I actually have disposable income. But wait, will I ever want to "dispose" of my income?!?

Anyways, I was quoted for the "full" Invisalign, but my dentist told me that I might be lucky enough to be done sooner with the express treatment, in which case I would get a refund for the difference. My dental insurance covers $1500, and the full Invisalign was quoted at $4600, so I would be responsible for $3100.

I'm looking forward to straight teeth :)

I was originally interested in using pre-tax dollars to pay for the braces through a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), but I first had to learn what the difference was between the two, and which plan was better for my particular situation. More on that later. And by that I mean I will be covering the health plan I chose in GREAT DETAIL in my next post. I know you're waiting on the edge of your seats for that one!

P.S. Please don't give your kids fluoride treatments or fluorinated water before the age of four. They will thank you later.

P.P.S. According to Wikipedia, "In November 2006, the American Dental Association began recommending to parents that infants from 0 through 12 months of age should have their formula prepared with water that is fluoride-free, or contains low levels of fluoride to reduce the risk of fluorosis." I concur.

I'm pretty excited. I just got a quote for my first big item purchase for myself, like ever. I've been living on a fairly strict budget while in school, and have found it hard to justify buying anything that I didn't absolutely need. But I'm giving myself the go-ahead just this once.

So now that I have a full time salary, what will be my first big purchase? I'm curious what y'all will guess.

I'll give you two hints:

1) It's not a car. Or a house (yet). In fact, it's fairly nonstandard and probably more practical than most "I just got a full time job and I can finally buy XXX" items go.
2) It's something that I've been wanting since I was a young girl.

I also realize that my "big" purchase might be small to others. To others, it might be considered an extravagance. It's all relative. I definitely won't be buying something I can't afford. And I definitely won't be paying with credit. Remember, this is Heather. I still have an emergency fund, a potential down payment, and now retirement to budget for. Sheesh.

No fair quizzing Tony, either, since he already knows.

Ready, set, guess!
 

Yesterday was the engineering convocation where I got to have my name called, walk across the stage, and shake the dean's hand. Apparently the dean of engineering sounded like Minnie Mouse, but to be honest, I was so out of it, she sounded perfectly normal to me. The highlight of the evening was definitely Ira A. Fulton, the namesake of our engineering college and founder of Fulton Homes, who at 77 years old was quite charming and charismatic, and full of entertaining life stories.

Unfortunately, I was suffering from a profound migraine that day, most likely due to allergies. It took all my will power just to get out of bed and pull myself together. I know I was a pain (and that's putting it mildly), but I really did appreciate all my family celebrating this special day with me. I just wish I could have been thinking more clearly, without feeling like every sensory impulse was attacking my brain. *Hugs* to my family, and thanks for putting up with me.

Here are some highlights from the evening. You can see the full album here.

Oh, and you can't tell from the pictures, but I was able to wear high heels less than a week after my colossal 44-mile hike in the Grand Canyon. Because that's what's important, you know.

Walking across the stage. I think at this point, I was laughing with the audience when they realized I was the only master's student in the chemical engineering department:

From 5.13.09 & 5.15.09 Master's Graduation

Father and daughter:

From 5.13.09 & 5.15.09 Master's Graduation

Sisters:

From 5.13.09 & 5.15.09 Master's Graduation

Minus the cap & gown:

From 5.13.09 & 5.15.09 Master's Graduation

I really enjoyed the ASU General Commencement ceremony on Wednesday, as you can tell by watching the following video (you can see me at 1:20, really getting into Obama's speech.) You can also see the back of my head at 0:32 (I'm the fifth one over).

Commencement 2009 from ASUF Admin on Vimeo.

I arrived on the field really early, so I got to sit in the front row of the Master's section. Little did I know that I was also sitting literally 10 feet away from the camera boom. I ended up on the big screen twice, and now in this video posted on the ASU website. Pretty cool :)

I loved how Obama took ASU's snubbing (not giving him an honorary degree) and poked fun with some good jokes, and then turned that into the theme of his entire speech - "Don't stop adding to the body of your work." Even the President is never done adding to his list of achievements, or building a sound body of work. Don't rest on your past accomplishments, but strive to go forward and make a difference. Really inspiring.

I still think he's worthy of an honorary degree for his past accomplishments alone, even if he has yet to "prove" himself as President.

Oh well.

You can read the transcript of his speech here.