I am officially a Tennessean!

And of course with some bumps along the way. Original TN condo closing date was set for July 24 at 9:00am. The fun started the week of July 17 and I was in Mexico on business most of the week. When I got back to Nashville on Thursday night, I got a phone call from the movers that they would be a little late picking up my belongings in Michigan on Friday. No biggie, just a quick phone call to my parents to let them know. Then the movers told me they will be dropping off my belongings in Tennessee Sunday morning. Sunday morning?!?! I don't even close until Monday morning. So I called the builder and begged him to let me move my stuff in early and he finally agreed.

Once I got back into the office on that Friday, I had received several phone calls and emails from the closing attorney that they were missing some information from my lender. Not a big deal in my mind because the lender had all day Friday to submit their information and I could still close on Monday morning. I finally got in touch with the lender Friday mid-morning and they were working on sending their information. Great, so I thought at the time. Lunchtime rolls around and still no word from my lender. I then left several messages with the lender and no one returned my call so I am under the assumption they are taking care of it. At 5:05pm on Friday night I received a call from the closing attorney and they still do not have the lender information. And to top it off, the information they did receive was incorrect so that also needed to be corrected prior to closing. Of course, I cannot get ahold of anyone at the bank because it is after 5pm on a Friday. So I had to move back my closing back to 2pm Monday and hope the lender sends their information to the closing attorney first thing Monday morning.

Saturday is final walk-through day. There are still some things that need to be fixed, but for the most part all is fine with the condo. The builder gave me keys and a garage door opener. The only problem was the builder hired a cleaning company to come clean the place before I moved in, but that didn't happen so I spent Saturday night cleaning.

Sunday morning at 9am the movers were to arrive. I finally got a phone call around 10:30am stating they won't arrive until 4pm that afternoon. Around 5:30pm the movers finally showed up. YEAH! Not so fast! They cannot get the semi on my street because there is a low hanging electrical wire. What to do, what to do. Met a lot of my neighbors because I went door to door asking to borrow a pick-up truck from them or someone they knew. No such luck. So we decided we had to rent a small truck on Monday morning and transload my belongings from the semi to the smaller truck to deliver. We decided to meet up again on Monday morning at 9am. Good thing the closing was moved to 2pm!

Monday morning I waited for the movers to call and finally they did at 10:30am. Now they have to pack the smaller truck, get to my condo, and unpack all before 12:45pm so I can leave and go to closing. They arrived at my condo just before noon with only half of my stuff. I asked them (or should I say the one mover. There were 2 movers, but only the younger kid came with this load to move my stuff.) to unload this first load and we would meet up again around 4pm to finish the move. When I got back from the closing they were actually on time and had the remainder of my things. By the time they finished I was too tired and stressed to even unpack one box. Now I just have a big mess to clean up and unpack. I am happy to see all of my stuff again!

I closed on my Michigan condo July 24 also (actually my parents did). Now I am done with Michigan and it is onto Tennessee. Can't wait for the weekend!

My Stuff is All Packed

Thanks to my parents my condo is all packed and ready for the movers later this week. Both of my closings are on July 24 so my parents will be at the Michigan closing and I will be at the Tennessee closing. The movers will arrive down here the week of July 24 (I am hoping for the 25th). Then the fun begins with unpacking about 95 boxes! I am actually looking forward to getting my stuff down here because it will give me something to do. Another busy month ahead of me with lots of travel to Mexico as well.

I Bought a Condo

July will be a busy month for me. I bought a brand new condo which is nice because nothing has to be done to it and no one has lived in it. I will be closing on it July 24 and I will also be closing on my Michigan condo July 24. I have already hired a moving company and Mom and Dad will work on packing my place once they get back from Nashville. Some things have and are going to the Salvation Army which will make my life easier when unpacking. No sense moving stuff I don't want anymore. Plus I will be heading back to Mexico for a week so that doesn't leave me too much time this month to get things done. I am already looking forward to August!

Happy Birthday America

I had a busy July 4th weekend. My parents are in town so we did a lot of Nashville sight seeing. First on the list was to visit J. Percy Priest Lake which is about 1 mile from where I live. It is a large lake with a dam, picnic area, water park, beach and recreation area. It is a popular spot for fishing, boating and swimming because there aren't many lakes in Tennessee.

Next on the agenda was to do a walk-through at my new condo I just purchased. It is brand new construction so I had to do a punch list prior to closing. No better time than when my parents are in town! It is a really nice place with lots of upgrades and quality touches. We then hit a local BBQ restaurant called Famous Dave's and it was excellent. Mom and Dad finally got to have the famous southern sweet tea.

The next day, July 3, we went to visit President (General) Andrew Jackson's mansion and plantation, The Hermitage, hence the name of the town I live in. It was a perfect day to go because they had lots of patriotic things to see (artillery shooting demonstrations, soldier quarters set-up, cannon shooting). It took you back to the war of 1812 and everyone was dressed in old clothing from that era. It was a very hot day, around 98 degrees, but these people didn't miss a beat or seem to notice the weather, despite wearing wool! And of course the mansion was impressive as well as the plantation with the slaves quarters and Mr. & Mrs. Jackson's tombs. After being out in the heat for several hours, we went back to my place to rest before hitting Opry Mills. They tore down the Opryland Amusement Park a few years ago and built a large mall called Opry Mills. It is quite nice with lots of name brand stores. On our drive back home from the mall, we saw fireworks at J. Percy Priest Lake.

July 4th is a busy day in Nashville because they have a free country music concert then a huge fireworks show after. Ronnie Milsap was the guest this year. People start showing up at the Cumberland River downtown around 9am and stay all day waiting for the concert that doesn't start until 7pm. Fireworks are at 8:45pm. It was another hot day around 95 degrees and we didn't want to sit downtown all day in the heat so we made our way to the west side of Nashville to a neighborhood called Belle Meade, which is the richest area in Tennessee. We visited the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art www.cheekwood.org which was built and owned by the Maxwell House Coffee family. The mansion, which is now the Museum of Art, is 30,000 sq. ft. and the gardens make up 55 acres. We took a lunch break half way through our garden walk and ate at the Pineapple Room, which is a restaurant right on the grounds. Even though it was hot, it was nice to be outside and strolling through the impressive gardens. We once again headed back to my place to cool off and relax before heading out for dinner. We ended up eating at the Aquarium restaurant. It is an indoor aquarium filled with sharks, sting rays, and many other kinds of fish. It was awesome and the food was awesome, too! On our way back to my place for the night, we saw lots of fireworks. Once we got home, we watched the Nashville fireworks on TV. The Nashville Symphony Orchestra plays while the fireworks show is going on. It was well done.

I am now back to work while my parents are off to see more Nashville sights (Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, etc.). Maybe they will even be able to make it down to Memphis to visit Elvis. We are possibly going to the Vince Gill concert Thursday night. Having a great time with my parents!