26.2 for Africa. THIS Weekend!

Daily, there are families in Africa who are struggling to stay alive due to unclean water and lack of medical attention. As a mom, this absolutely breaks my heart knowing that children are dying just because their communities are unable to attain clean drinking water. My hubs and I have decided to take on the challenge of running the Detroit Marathon (Team World Vision) this year in order to raise funds for Africa. The amount we raise (along with the hundreds of other runners) will provide clean water and medical attention for communities in Africa through World Vision. World Vision is a non-profit organization that provides lifetime care for children in need around the globe. Our family currently sponsors two beautiful children; one from the Dominican Republic {Radame} and the other is from Zambia {Chako}.

Each of us {runners + supporters} have the incredible goal to raise over $1,300 in funds to send to Africa. This may seem like a whole lot of money, but $50 provides clean water to a person for their entire lifetime. The money we could potentially raise would provide clean water for 26(.2) people for the rest of their lives! Think about that. If every runner could raise their funds, thousands of people would have clean water forever. I wanted to share this with you not only because we are excited, but also because you guys will keep me accountable in my training!

If you would like to donate an amount of money to help us reach our goal, please visit http://teamworldvision.org/goto/michelledelange. The amount you donate is tax deductible. Last year, our team from our church ran the Chicago Marathon. They were able to raise funds to support for 11,000 people in Africa!! So far, we have raised over $600,000.00 towards clean water efforts. Thank you all for taking the time to read this. If you feel called, please donate!

The Blossom Studio: Coming Soon!

It's been a while since our last post. And I missed writing. We've been incredibly busy with our house search and while nothing is official yet, we're in negotiations with someone. So woo-hoo!

I have been working on a certain project for quite some time now, getting it ready and putting a whole lot of love into it. It's my passion to create. Whether it be designing interior spaces, scrapbooking, or jewelry. And that's what our grand opening is all about. The Blossom Studio is a jewelry shop we're opening via Etsy. I am super excited about finally getting it started and making really pretty accessories. I thought it would be appropriate for the launch of our shop if I shared a few items that will be listed. Check back in the next couple weeks as we ready our Etsy shop for sales! Please, feel free to share, but if you do use my photos, I ask that you credit them back to me!

Frustrating Foreclosures

Our prayers go out to Boston and each family affected by the recent tragedy. We're praying for comfort and healing and justice served to those responsible for this disgusting act of hatred and violence. Our troubles are so little compared to what these families are experiencing. 

Frustration: to make (plans, efforts, etc.) worthless or of no avail; defeat; to disappoint.

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This is the perfect definition of what our "home buying" process has been.  Yes, we haven't been looking for an insanely long time, but nonetheless it is simply stupid the loop holes we have gone through.  I wish this was a more positive post in which I get to share that we've found the house.  Sadly, I'll have to leave that for another day.  I suppose the following is more of a venting/explosion of fiery rage on my part.

1. You will wait for what seems like forever.  The first house we made the leap to put an offer on fell through...after waiting a total of 8 days.  Sure, that's not a long time in the grand scheme we call life, but when you're waiting to see if the house of your dreams is yours, well, that's eternity. The banks communicate on their own time...which leads us to point numero dos.
2. The banks can be stupefyingly ignorant.  And that's putting it nicely.  Here has been the general timeline for each house we've been interested in:  We put an offer in on the house. We wait, wait, wait for 3 or 4 days. Then we hear the bank has decided they'd like to extend the "bid opening period" for another 2 or 3 days. We wait, wait, wait. Then we find out that we did not get the house (the crowd erupts in a thundering boo) via online, when the listing moves into pending status. Then we finally receive a phone call 3 days after that, that we did not get the house. DUH.
3. In our price range, there is a limited selection of homes to choose from. Basically, we're choosing the house with the lease amount of work.  But, on a positive side, more projects to blog about!  So, overall, we're ok with this point.
4. You have to stay on top of those banks like white on rice.  Seriously, there is little consideration for the buyer out there and if you're not calling and emailing everyday, pertinent information may never get to you.
5. First time home buyers, like us, might have a tendency to let others take the reigns in home searching.  But it's vastly important that you do your own research into every aspect of the home, neighborhood, city, and schools. This is one of the biggest decisions of your adult life...I don't want to leave that up to someone else to decide!  One home we looked at seemed like a great fit for us. The price was good, it was in a good neighborhood, and the city and schools were very nice. Diving deeper, we discovered that the house already had a government appraisal done and lead based paint was found inside the home. Not good. And that information was no where on the listing of the house. Of course that would have been found during an inspection, but we saved ourselves a few hundred dollars by finding out before!

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I am sorry for all the negativity.  This has been our experience so far and it's just frustrating when you're trying to find something you love and you've never experienced this process before.  Not everyone's experience is like this.  On the positive side, foreclosures have great potential to be turned around.  They could be worth a whole lot more with a little TLC.  And we truly are looking forward to some projects around the abode. We just need it to be livable for our Little Miss!  Hopefully, we'll be posting soon that we found our home...our home that we can't wait to put some love into!

Favs on Pinterest

It's been a while since we posted last...our Little Miss has been very under the weather. And while I love blogging, I love snuggling with my girl a whole lot more. So, while we're hanging out on the couch again today, I thought I'd share a few things I'm digging on Pinterest (as you'll see, there is no method to the madness). We're still in the middle of an insane in the membrane house search so obviously that's all I look at nowadays! Enjoy..

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These are just a few of my favs right now via my pinning of interests. Hopefully you'll run across some cool finds too..I'd love for you to share them too!