On December 3, 2019 Rudi and I bought a house!!

I guess the process took four or five years. When I first started writing this blog, I was looking for a house. I feel like my years with MSM was a wrinkle in time that took me off my path. Actually not really, because I definitely loved him and the breakup nearly destroyed me. It turned me into a totally different person. On the good side, I am now more self sufficient. I have no interest in falling so in love with anyone ever again. Never again will I admire my mate to the point that I need them to validate me and my choices. I have no interest in that. I just want to be with someone who can take care of themselves, let me take care of myself,  and then sometimes we can hang out and have fun together. In my dreams I still want a kind and loving relationship filled with pets, travels, service to the world, joy, laughter, self  growth (learning new things together), and passion. I am working on trusting the process to get there, and trusting the entire thing, actually. For now I bought a house. I don’t know what got me starting to look. Actually, yes I do. I was fostering my dog Rudi, who I am somehow trying to keep but as I stated before I don’t want too much attachment to anyone, so he is free to leave me if someone else can provide him with a better life. I challenge anyone to that, though, because I adore this dog, and have invested A LOT into his happiness. It’s a fantastic return on investment because he is sweet, makes me laugh, and he is unconditionally loving. Anyways, I was fostering Rudi and he was barking a lot and he MAYBE chewed the balcony post in the amazing duplex i was renting (i LOVED that place) so the landlord didn’t renew my lease. I am not certain thats WHY he didn’t renew it because the day I left (literally moments later), I stuck the address into google search, and up it came for $500/mo more rent. So it is extremely possible the landlord just wanted more money. Greedy bastard. But I do understand. LA is expensive. Especially Santa Monica. They gave me 20days notice. That’s right. Twenty days to find a new house, pack my stuff, and move out (more bastardly than raising the rent). Was I stressed, you ask? BEYOND. This entire scenario has wreaked havoc on my blood pressure (Not kidding. Quite serious in fact.  I’m working on that with a doctor and really hoping we can get this under control and consistently good in what I hope is quick period of time because I don’t do well when I am in fear of health issues). I ended up in an Air BNB for 3 weeks (cost a fortune), a few hotels (which was somewhat fun. I should have reviewed them!), and then renting a holding cell, which is actually a lovely apartment, in the same complex where my nephew and his wife live. The amenities are amazing, the people are friendly, the rent isn’t bad, and the staff are really sweet people. I love the pool and hot tub, I love that i have a parking space in a garage, and I love that my nephew and niece are so close. It has been fun living there, actually, despite how dark my unit is. And I never unpacked fully because immediately I started house hunting fairly aggressively. I just would like to go somewhere and live there at least five years and NOT be kicked out or worry about rent going up. This way I will own something and hopefully…..HOPEFULLY it will appreciate this time (unlike last time when I bought in 2006 and then the crash happened in 2008). I’ve been gun-shy, but I am excited. Rudi loves the yard and seems at home in the space. The fun part is, the entire place needs to be completely renovated. So I am going to get to basically make my own home. With restrictions, of course. I have to stick within my budget. I WILL make a nice home. The greatest part of it all is its a duplex. Two 1920 single family bungalows on one lot. So I will be renting out one of them to help pay the mortgage. The hard part is my  budget and the bungalows are both pretty small. I know that anything under 1500SF is too small for me, so I am going to need to figure out how to make 1100SF FEEL like 1500. Solution #1-  I hired a Feng Shui specialist to go through the space with hopes she can help me create an efficient, open and airy floor plan. #2-  I am currently talking with different architects and interior designers so I can find an affordable one to work with and support me to do this right. My contractor, Mike, is one of my closest friend’s best friend. So lets hope we are all still in love with each other on the flip side. Pun intended hahaha

The Feng Shui lady was interesting……I was SUPER excited about her. She got fantastic yelp reviews but when she showed up she was frazzled. In her defense she wasn’t feeling well, and apparently had bronchitis. At first she seemed mean, but I am sensitive so I knew I may have been taking things wrong. Once time passed, she was really very sweet and gave me a lot of her time. However, every time I email a question, her answers, though they do answer my questions, seem abrasive. I guess its hard to tell tone in an email so I’ve been giving her the benefit of the doubt. She didn’t give me colors or a basic layout describing what quadrant was what- so I ‘m not sure where “love” is (now I know because I asked) or “finance”, or “helpful people”. Whats advantageous about knowing these things is one can put stuff in the quadrants to enhance positive energy in each arena. For example, in the helpful people quadrant (ie friends), its good to hang art with groups of people, and to place certain colors and elements that go with that idea to promote more friendships in life. As a bonus, once done, the rooms seem well designed because Feng Shui lays down ideas for color and decor in the different quadrants. Since my Feng Shui lady didn’t share this information with me, I will not likely be using her for anything else. I may even call a different Feng Shui person,  or just use what she did give me, trust it, and not worry about it ever again? Her stuff was more about protecting the house and making it a strong, energetically safe, place to live. And that is a good thing.

Rudi is SO excited about his new house and yard. My friend Ina and her pup Elvis stopped by. My first friend to see the place. I’m excited she got to see the “before”. 

I wish I had blogged through my breakup and the creation of my last home (the duplex I rented). All the bumble dates and self growth I went through, I am sure, would have been funny and also may have helped other people going through a break up. It just all felt very personal and I didn’t want any of it out in the internet. There are probably a lot of blogs that cover that topic.

So thats the catch up. I plan to blog about the renovation and where I am at in my life and how this is all going. Coincidentally I picked the death card in my tarot reading the other day (yeah, I did a tarot reading, keep your comments to yourself haha). This obviously scared the crap out of me, but then I read that it actually was not literal. That it meant all negative things that I no longer need will be leaving my life. That if I do whats needed, my health will be improved and back to fantastic. That it is a good time to renovate and start new projects. Perfect timing with the New Year just around the corner,  I am really excited to create something new. I am excited to have this fun project, to pick colors and tiles, and shower heads, and to plot out a floor plan. I am excited to create this new home and business (the rental unit), and to build a strong foundation for love, health, prosperity, and happiness in the new decade! I am standing up to the challenge of creating something amazing in my tiny home with my tiny budget.  

xoxo

QJ