Renting or Buying - The All Consuming Dilema

Dan and I are at a point in our life where there are lots of decisions to be made and, as you may have read, this is not our strong suit.  One decision we have been debating for, it seems eternity (seriously, I think we have been debating this for longer than we’ve been together!) is whether we should keep renting or buy a house.  

Oh a house...a dog (obviously the number one reason for owning rather than renting), our own space, a backyard, a mortgage, taxes, insurance.  Hmmm...

Or we could rent...freedom to move whenever we want, lower utilities, no mowing, rising rent prices, no equity, and NO DOG.

Well you can see our predicament.  We have gone around and around in this debate.  We’ve looked at houses only to decide to rent.  We’ve moved from apartment to apartment only to decide to look at houses.  It’s a never ending cycle of indecision (which, ironically enough, describes perfectly our situation last night when trying to decide what to have for dinner.  We had pizza, in case you were wondering and it was completely delicious).

So, what to do. This is the point in the process when one or the other of us typically puts our proverbial foot down and makes a decision (only to question this decision 2 days later).  In this case, it was me.  We had a long conversation (AGAIN) about the benefits and drawbacks of buying.  Finally, we made a decision (cue the Hallelujah chorus)!  

We are buying a house and here it is!  Decision: MADE.

As of April 25th, 2012 the Willmers are homeowners!  Our own 1300 square foot, 3 bedroom, fenced in back yard, finished basement piece of paradise!    
 
P.S.  Progress on the updates we are making to the house will be documented - this should be good reading!  Hah!  

Shutters and new landscaping coming soon

New paint coming soon

Tile backsplash coming soon

Our furniture, not some random person's, coming soon

The ENORMOUS finished basement - game nights coming soon

New dog coming soon!! 

Dear Santa...

Every year at about this time our families begin asking Dan and I for our Christmas list.  I’m not sure if you have this problem or not but for some reason this always seems to take us by surprise.  It’s not like we do this every year...er...uh...I mean it is November we still have another month until the big day.  What’s the rush?  I begin to think of all the things I have to do to get ready for the holiday season.  It can’t be that much.  There’s the tree - always quite an ordeal, the Christmas lights - you can’t wait too long on that or it gets too cold, the Christmas village - this always seems to take up more space than I had planned and it takes time to decide which little lighted houses are worth setting up, the cookies - I have to get my friends and family organized for this because Heaven forbid I bake them alone, and of course the Christmas list.  Then I think, “Hmmm...maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea to get started”.  

As with most things, I approach writing a Christmas list a little differently than Dan.  Dan sits and thinks deeply about only the few items he most needs and desires.  I, on the other hand, write feverishly all the things I might have considered wanting (not just the things I actually want) in the last 5 years (not just in the last 5 weeks).  I think about the clothes in my closet, what shoes seem to be a little worn out, what movies came out that I thought I might want to watch again.  I realize my favorite band is coming to town this summer and I just have to see them - and by “to town” I mean to Chicago so it will of course need to be a weekend getaway.  I remember all the other trips Dan and I have talked about taking and wonder how we could ask our families to help us take them - yes families Europe is on the list in case you’re reading.  I think about how the battery in the car went dead a few weeks ago and how it would be nice to have a new one - a car that is, not a battery.  Oh and of course we have been considering buying a house - maybe someone could cover the down payment?

At this point I begin to think I might be getting a little bit carried away.  I figure Dan’s list will probably be a bit more down to earth.  He is usually the more practical one, I mean he does the budget every month so he has to be pretty practical.  He probably has some great ideas for things we need around the house.  He was saying the other day how his jeans are getting a little ratty - I’m sure that’s on the list.  I know he needs socks.  

All set to bring myself back down to earth, I look over at Dan’s list.  As I expected, a WHOLE PAGE!!!  Wait a minute!!  I begin to read the things on Dan’s list: jeans, flannel shirts, new drill bits, electric tool set (saw, drill, etc), a router table complete with router, a dog, a trip to Europe, a new car, and a down payment on a house!  With just this tidbit from the list I begin to realize the impossible - we agree on three things on the list!  We almost never agree!

This being said here is our 2011 Christmas list (yes we did work together to make one list):

1.     Socks (we both need these)

2.     Jeans (Dan)

3.     Pull Over Sweaters (Hanna)

4.     A matchbox car (Preferably some sort of SUV)

5.     A candle that smells like Europe (good luck with that one)

6.     A dog (For REAL)

7.     Some gift cards so we can still go out to eat while saving for a down payment on a house

Are We There Yet?

We all do it.  We all laugh at other people when we see them doing it.  What am I talking about? No it isn’t picking your nose!  It’s jamming out in the car of course!  When we are on a long trip, Hanna and I have a couple standard things that keep us entertained.  

1. Argue.  When you are trapped in a car with someone for more than an hour, it is very likely you may end up in some kind of argument.  I usually start and win said arguments, but of course we only argue once in a blue moon like all good married couples!

2. Talk with each other.  We'll figure out our plan for the next week, talk about how life is going, or just get to know each other better.

3. Listen to an audiobook.  We found that one of the best ways for us to sit quietly and not bicker is to put on an audiobook and enjoy reading a book with our ears.  Our favorite is the Harry Potter series.  The reader is amazing at doing separate voices for each character.  I think we once listened to Harry Potter for 8 hours straight when we drove to Colorado!

4. And finally, jamming out.

To give you an idea of how this goes, I'll start from the beginning.  Typically about 10 minutes into the trip we run out of things to talk about - let’s be honest we talk everyday and no one is THAT interesting!  Hanna, as the co-pilot, whips out her iPod.  She politely asks me what I want to listen to but as I like to thoroughly think through decisions weighing each and every option, we usually end up with her choice.  She is much easier to please!  After a few songs, the theme of our jamming session begins to emerge.

My favorite is the 80's rock theme which includes favorites like “More Than a Feeling”, “Sweet Child Of Mine”, and “Don't Stop Believin’”.  They are all songs I love and more importantly, ones I know the lyrics to and can sing along with.  I have not been gifted with the ability to remember lyrics (or any spoken word - I’m really more of a math and science guy), so I often end up sitting there while Hanna belts it out.

As our time in the car drags on the jam sessions become more and more intense.  Hanna transitions our music selection from singing along, to belting it out, to some head bobbing, to full on car dancing.  When the dancing begins the songs also start to change.  What was once fun sing-a-long oldies now have become dance classics like “Bringing Sexy Back”, a little Avril Lavine, and if we’re really crazy some “Hey Ya!” - although it’s tough to “shake it like a polaroid picture” in the car.  I'll have you know that I have been known to cut a mean rug in my day, but it's all about the right time and place.  The car is usually not the right place.  I have a tough time relaxing and just letting go, but when I do, I have so much fun with Hanna!

Singing and dancing together as we drive always makes me grateful that I have someone to laugh through life with knowing, in spite of my sub-par dance moves, she will still love me when the drive is done.  

Operation: Movie Night

In any relationship, a marriage or otherwise there comes a time for compromise. Where will we go to dinner tonight? Whose turn is it for dishes? Who cleaned the cat's litter box last? And the all important, what movie should we watch? I know to some this may seem a simple task. At the Willmer house however, no such luck. To fully grasp the complexity of the situation you must know we have, how should I say it, a plethora, an overabundance, a STOREHOUSE of movies. Some people hunt for antiques, others for stamps, we collect movies.

To further intensify the situation neither Dan or I are particularly adept at making choices - let's be honest, we hate to make them! As you can clearly imagine this makes for a difficult set of circumstances when trying to make even the smallest decisions - i.e. choosing what movie to watch on a Friday night.

To simplify matters Dan and I have come up with a most ingenious plan, a plan so excellent only the worst decision makers could have invented it. This system has saved us hours, days, perhaps months (okay I may be getting carried away here) of marital strife. We are so excited to share "Operation: Movie Night" with all of you that we are going to devote next week's entire post to explaining the intricacies and inner workings of this system.

Only joking! Here is our step by step method to de-stressing movie night.

Step 1: Dan picks three movies

Step 2: Hanna picks three movies

Step 3: Dan eliminates one of Hanna's movies

Step 4: Hanna eliminates one of Dan's movies

Step 5: Repeat Steps 3 & 4 until one movie remains

Step 6: Watch a totally different movie that neither of you picked in the first place!

This is true love - taking time to compromise only to realize you never needed to compromise in the first place.

This Is What It's All About...

In the words of a famous priest, "Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today. Marriage, that blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream...and love, true love, will follow you forever."

Now for those of you who have never seen "The Princess Bride" and have no idea what I'm talking about, rent it before reading on - this is the only requirement for reading our blog! As for the rest of you, marriage is indeed what brought Dan and I together about one year, 2 months, 23 days, and 22 hours ago - but who's counting. We have been blissfully married for that time and we are glad to report things are perfect. We both have minty fresh breath in the morning, kiss every night before bed, and ALWAYS put the toilet seat down after use. Jealous, right?

Alas, if only that were even partly true! Hah! Even we, clean as we may be, stink in the morning as I'm sure most of you do as well. And that is what we are here to share - our stinky stories about real life, love, and what it looks like to live with someone all day, everyday, FOREVER! As the priest says, "True love will follow you forever" - even into marriage!