The Hunt Is (still) On

Not much new to report on the Ironman training front. Had a weekend of workouts but Saturday's was cut short because of the rain. We got 20 miles, headed back to our cars since we had our Rookie group with us who only needed to ride 20, were about to head out to get an additional 40 miles in, and boom. Thunder and rain. So I jumped in the car and headed to the gym and swam with Gayle.

The Redman half-Iron is around the corner so only a few more intense weeks, then taper for the half, and then I'm back in full swing after the race. Funny, last year I spent so much time training for my half-Ironman and it was my goal race. Now my half-Iron is just a training race. What a difference a year makes.

Sunday was another day of house hunting. We saw about a dozen properties. There were four we really liked. Not sure I'm in love yet. Here's the short version.

House one was a total remodel and expansion by previous owners. The main house was incredible. Really nice. But the kitchen and family room were in the extension which was completely isolated from the rest of the house. The way it was done killed the flow. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, well, someone call a code red and charge the paddles because this house and kitchen needs a major jolt to make it work and bring it back to life. Honestly, Shawn and I cold have made it really cool but resale is a major concern.

House two was really pretty. Only a two bedroom and a bit more traditional than I'd like. Plus it was towards the top of our price range. I think it may have been too pretty. Don't really see myself there. But I could image an over sized sofa with floral print sitting in that house. Yeah, not my style.

House three was a traditional house that was just flipped. The inside was gorgeous! Location on this one is an issue. A bit further west than we'd like. And with any flip there were corners cut and some sloppy work so as much as it is "move-in" ready, once we are there we will continue to find things that need to be fixed or redone correctly. But it is a great house.



House four is a head-scratcher. It's one of those houses that COULD be so incredible. It's on almost an acre of land. In the city! It's landscaping is very "rustic" so it needs to be cleaned up and tamed. It's only a two bedroom but we could add on. Anything it needs is really cosmetic. You can't hate a house because it's current owners have bad taste. (Really -- knotty pine -- who has installed that since 1975?) And we could design and construct an amazing outside living area and pool and still have plenty of yard left over. I'm leaning towards the latter two. Now it's just time to start doing some math and see what makes the most sense.



So, no decisions yet but I think we'll have one made soon.