On February 19th, as you may know, I purchased my first home. The month of March was blissfully mortgage free as I had incorporated all of those costs into my closing. Wouldn't you know though, the honeymoon phase is over and in some cruel attempt at a joke from the universe, my very first mortgage payment is due today, April Fool's Day. Of course I'm only kidding about it being a cruel joke. The universe has been unbelievably good to me and I am grateful for all of the blessings I've received. I do think it's funny though, as a first time homeowner, that this massive part of my paycheck is being taken from me on today of all days.
This past week has been spring break so I suppose that most people would have spent their time on a holiday of some sort, perhaps even in their own town, resting, recuperating, maybe getting a little sun. I, however, have had no break at all. Monday, the first day of break, I went to the new office to get a feel for dentistry and office management. I only worked a half a day, however, so I did get to enjoy a little time lying in the sun in my new back yard. Once I get some patio furniture and a grill out there, I can see myself spending quite a lot of time enjoying that space.
Tuesday through Thursday of this week were no joke either with the amount of time and energy spent NOT relaxing, but rather filming House Hunters. I had no idea how much effort goes into the making of a show. If you consider the fact that only 22 minutes of what we filmed is aired, but that we did take after take for 5 long days, (two at the beginning of the month and three this week), each day a minimum of 8 hours, that's a whole lot of filming and just as much editing!! I can't imagine what the crews spend on filming a mini series or more. Clearly we aren't skilled actresses, but T'Lene, Wendy, Sarah and I now have a much better appreciation for what these people do. It's hard work, y'all!!
Tuesday was the first day on the "set" at a location in Downtown Charleston. This property was meant to be the "fixer upper," the one I could see myself flipping and making a beautiful property on the peninsula. I had a lot of fun filming, except for the fact that I was sick all day long, but I don't know how serious I could be about buying a house, this house, on Line Street. I might have vision, and I might have the finances (big might), but I really don't know if that particular location would have been the best spot for me...my daddy would have rolled over in his grave if I bought that one!!
After filming in West Ashley all day on Wednesday, an amazing lunch at Swig and Swine, running errands and grabbing a quick bite to eat for dinner, I was completely exhausted and teased my man about carrying me home...no energy to even walk myself in the house.
Whether it was nerves over the mortgage, anxiety about other life occurrences, or just the fact that I'm a freak of nature and sometimes simply can't sleep, I got a measly two hours of shut eye on Wednesday night, making my earliest start time, 8:30 am on Thursday, a really difficult task. Arriving at the Country Club of Charleston for a precious shoot with two of my favorite kiddos, me reading The Adventures of Gia the Giraffe to them and quizzing them on their historical knowledge of Charleston (I'm super proud of them too because they are two smart cookies and answered all of my questions correctly!), was fun but a little challenging because the three of us (the kids and I) were so very tired. I was proud of them though because the shoot with those babes was the easiest out of all five days. Mason and Meade, you rock!
The rest of the day on Thursday was my biggest test as I'm not one to drink too much caffeine, but I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to keep my eyes open without it, especially after my "decision" at The Brew Cellar, a fabulous craft brew shop in Park Circle. We were drinking real beer people, and with a high gravity beer that you must (the producer said I had to) continue drinking, sip after sip, top up after top up, that tiny little glass seemed endless at 11 am. I wondered how I would possibly make it through the rest of the day. By the way, thanks so much, Ryan, for allowing us to invade your space. You know I'll be back, perhaps sans a camera crew next time.
After "the decision," we walked the main street of Park Circle a few times, a couple of segments with me alone, some with T'Lene and me together. Although we tried to get back to EVO for a third lunch, we opted for a faster and probably healthier choice of Doe's Pita which happens to be a little closer to home for me. I then had an interview about the home buying process (my 4th wardrobe change of the day), then after I got out of that outfit and into # 5, "work clothes," T'Lene and I filmed a project segment where we looked at fabric samples for drapes and dining room chairs then planted some flowers to put on the front porch. This was a rather entertaining part of the day as both my mom and my man drove up and were watching from the street as T'Lene and I struggled through the gnats to get the giant bag of potting soil into the planters and then to break up the flower roots and plant them. In a very "whistle while you work" kind of way, I cleaned up the area and then we were back inside for another wardrobe change, although I REALLY wanted a shower by this point.
Finally, I was able to welcome, first Chance (that's my guy's name), then family and friends, then latecomer Sarah, to a "party" as our closing segment of the whole House Hunters shoot. What an amazing experience it all was. By Thursday night after the final scene had wrapped and everyone other than Sarah and Chance had cleared out, I thought I might collapse. I think it was only about 7:30. The house was finally quiet. After a few more minutes of socializing with them, they too had to head on home. I climbed in my big ol' bed, laid down to count my blessings, and thought to myself, this is definitely no joke. My life is such a crazy roller coaster ride, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
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