I spent over $10,000 in the last year.

ON RENT!  Whoa, I feel sick about that.  I am never going to see that money again.  When I found out about that, I started thinking about how nice it would be to buy our own place and stop this renting business.  Chris, of course, agreed whole-heartedly.  So the process has begun.

Last night we saw five homes that I never want to see again.  Ever.  They looked decent online, but they smelled and the neighbor's yard was trashy.  I know that this is just our first home.  This isn't our dream home, but there are some things that I don't want to compromise.

We need at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  I want a closet in the master bedroom that can fit both of our clothes.  (Chris currently uses the closet in the nursery as his.  Both of our closets are tiny.)  I want to live in a good neighborhood.  That was the most disappointing thing about last night.  I welcome a house that needs work.  I would love a good fixer-upper IF it was in a friendly, safe and clean neighborhood.  It all comes down to the kitchen and square footage with Chris.  We would both love to live closer to Chris's work in Provo, but... Provo!?  I don't know if there is a nice, affordable, safe place there.  All five homes that we looked at last night were in Provo and I was depressed after seeing them.  Blah.

Then there is always the option of a townhouse.  We can get a newer and more updated place for the money, but is it a good investment?  There is so much we have to learn.  We hope to be in a new place by December.  We love our apartment, it's PERFECT, but it keeps stealing our money and is never going to give it back.  Hmph.