I know it has been a couple weeks since I've updated, but that's because I literally haven't had any time!  We started off busy with the business.  We've got a new recruit who's doing awesome, and we ran our first training appointments with him.  Oh! I finally took my life insurance test and passed with an 84 percent! (Matt got 79 and you need a 70 to pass.)  My information was faxed to the company and submitted to the state.  Now I just have to wait for the state to do their thing and then for the company to appoint me and I can run appointments without Matt. :)  Anyway, so this all kept us busy for a week or so.

Thursday the 21st, we went down to look at the model for the Ridgestone Condos in Payson.  They're amazing!  About 1,270 square feet, 3 bed, 2 bath with an actual laundry room (not just a washer and dryer in a closet).  And! - get this - there's quite a bit of storage too!  Now if there were a garage - they'd be the perfect condo.  As it stands, they are the biggest and nicest condos we've seen (and we've seen a lot of condos over the last year or so).  Their prices have been steadily dropping for the past 2 years, and the cheapest is currently $119,900 (middle unit, ground and third floor are $129,900).  I'd pretty much decided we were going to try to buy one because they were new and still in our price range.  Then we visited the model and chatted with the builder, a friend of both of our families, Stan Goodrich.  That's when we discovered their true amazingness.

During our chat with Stan, we found out how even more amazing the condos are - they'll actually let you plumb for gas at the range and the dryer! (Even after sheetrock - they're crazy - fortunately, there's no sheetrock up yet, so it was cheaper).  Plus! You can have tile or wood laminate standard - and you can mix and match!  We're putting wood laminate in the kitchen/dining and tile in the laundry, bathrooms, and entryway. Right, guess I should continue with the timeline.

We told Stan we wanted to do it and we'd let him know for sure by the beginning of the next week.  So Friday, we visited with their preferred lender (initially we'd been using Wells Fargo since Matt was working there when we started house shopping, but I have no loyalties :) ) After chatting with him and running numbers, giving him all our personal financial information (less one check stub from Matt - which he finally dropped off this week), he figured we should be fine to qualify for 120K.  We left there, sat in the car in the parking lot, and made phone calls - to the parents, to Grandpa Erdmann (we're moving! thanks for everything!), to friends, and to our realtor.  *sigh* At this point I got upset and depressed for two days.  Oh! and we called Stan to tell him we really were going to buy the condo.  We set a time for that evening to go back over, sign the papers, and pay the deposit.

Now let me explain why I was depressed (sorry this post is getting long) - the condos are currently not working with an agent, and there is no commission built into the listed price.  Well, Brook (our realtor) has been with us for the last year or so while we've looked at houses....and he's extended-extended family (married Matt's mom's cousin I believe).  He couldn't make it Friday night, so we ended up back there on Saturday evening (after three training appointments plus normal training in the morning - long day!) After discussions, we're paying Brook about a 2.5 percent commission, so our price is now $122,900.  Then we signed the papers and paid our builder's deposit. 

They were updating the upgrades pricing sheet as lots of things had actually gotten cheaper with the economy the way it is, so Tuesday, we went down to pick our options.  We went with standard on everything except for the aforementioned gas lines and to get a gas range (Total upgrades = $530, making the total price = $123,430).  I know you're all dying to know our colors - so I'll tell you, but I only have internet pics of some options for certain, and one that's close :).  Sorry - I have no idea who the carpet or cabinets are through.

Paint - atrium white (This will ultimately be only the trim and ceiling color - but we didn't want to pay more for two-tone when I have lots of colors in mind for the different rooms, it's easier to tape the trim than the carpet :) )

Don't get me wrong - I love my carrier, but I'm a wee bit annoyed about something.  "What is it?" you ask?  Well I'll tell you!

Matt and I got our own family plan and new phones for our one year anniversary (it was really like a week later because we were waiting for my T-Mobile contract to end).  The point is, we should be on the same schedule as far as upgrades and whatnot.

Well guess what?  We're not.  Do you want to know why? Of course you do! He gets to be eligible for an upgrade RIGHT NOW and I have to wait three months (April 14th, to be exact).  "That's stupid," you say?  I know! I said the same thing...once we left the store :)  So here's AT&T's reason in all their wisdom - Matt has the primary line, so he spends more, so they let him upgrade three months early.

Now allow me to explain the flaw in this reasoning.  Our family plan has 2 lines on it, his and mine.  Due to that fact, we are a family plan.  Without my line, he is a single line, and would thus NOT be on a family plan. (Do you see where I'm going with this?) Now if I were a third, fourth, or fifth line added for $10, I would understand.  HOWEVER, they need my line in order to be a family plan.  I think the first TWO lines of a family plan should have the same schedule.  I suppose they're not doing too poorly if this is my only complaint though, huh?

But while we're on the phone subject, let me make a suggestion to HTC (I'm getting the Tilt 2 in April :p)  HTC - you need to have the option to INVERT the scroll.  I'm a y-axis: inverted girl.  I can't play video games unless the y-axis is inverted.  When I scroll on a computer, the page is inverted from the direction I'm scrolling.  Yes, in April I'll get used to it, but I still think they should have the option to switch. :p

"But it just goes the direction you move..."  Yes, I know, but everything else in my life is inverted, and they don't even give me the option to change it!  Oh well - I'll have a data plan for the first time - yay for surfing the internet from my phone!  Oh, and of course, TurboApps!  After all, that's the real reason I want a new phone.  Otherwise, my pink one does pretty well still :)

Rant over :)

Can actually pay off - who'd have thought.  Anyway, just thought I'd share that we just made about $1,000 in 3.5 hours over the course of two days.  Not too shabby, eh?  Guess we really will be buying a house in February :D

Never get too comfortable.  2 years and one week of primary, and we were released.  I was really excited for this class, too. I finally was feeling like things would go well, then Thursday, Bro. Mason came over to tell us we were being released.  Sad day.  Sounds like I'll be working in Relief Society though, per a conversation with the RS president today.

Umm, in other news, I've essentially been offered a promotion at work.  More responsibility - sort of the same as I'm doing now, just be my boss's second completely.  Pay to be negotiated . . . contingent on staying around awhile.  (At least a year anyway)  We tabled the discussion for now - my goal is to quit - I told my boss this :)  Hopefully it's doable.  It's kind of nice to know that in a month or two, though, I'll still have the option to say, okay, I'm going to be here for at least another year, pay me more. :)  But I really don't want to.  I just want to be done - or at least cut back my hours.  We shall see.

We are also pretty much going to buy a house (condo rather) in the next couple of months.  Between our tax return and the tax credit, we should be fine - that's including needing to buy appliances with said credit - if that's unnecessary, we'll be even more better :)  Granted, if things are going well enough for me to quit by the end of April (my goal), that will mean that we won't be depending on those things to settle debt enough to purchase - which means we'll have even less debt and be less strapped.  This is also the goal.  :)

That's all the updates for now.